Let's Be Weird Together
by Scarlet Alapaap
Summary: Set in a world without Titans (AU). Hange was Levi's first ever friend, he realized. His first silly crush, too. It's almost embarrassing.
1. Eight (Part 1) - Crush

I'm actually apprehensive uploading something for this section since I've read really good ones here, but my Levihan feels got the better of me anyway, and I just started reading and watching the series this year. This is set in a world without Titans, so there will be characters who are alive in this story even though they're dead in canon.

I'd like to know what you think. :D Please leave a review if you can. It helps! :D

* * *

 **Chapter One: Eight (Part 1) - Crush**

Their story began at the neighborhood playground where he spotted this weird kid in a messy pigtail crouched on the far end of the area. Normally, little Levi wouldn't give so much crap about other kids and their businesses, but she had been there for about a good ten minutes (since he reached the place ten minutes ago to sulk after his uncle didn't let him watch his favourite afternoon show) already that it bothered him so much he had to know what the hell was up with that weirdo.

He allowed himself to land clumsily on his two feet as he jumped off the swing. The young boy tried to be as stealthy as possible as he approached the kid. What could be so interesting that made her stay in that tiring position for a long time? Levi immediately regretted his decision to check when he spotted tiny, gooey stuff from behind the kid's shoulder. Before he could stop himself, little Levi let out gagging sound, loud enough to disrupt the little girl who was now facing him.

The first thing he noticed wasn't how big and shiny her brown eyes were or how the small smile in her face made her look amiable, but how her glasses were askew as it rested on her nose. She reminded him so much of the nerds he knew from school. Perhaps she was a nerd herself?

"...That's really gross," he stated, his features contorted to disgust and disbelief.

But the young girl only looked at him blankly. "I know," she affirmed, "but I wanted to know how the insides of the bird looked like."

This made him even more disgusted. "Psycho," he muttered.

She pouted, her lower lip portruding. "It was dead when I found it okay. I didn't kill it. Maybe some cat did."

But still, it disgusted and alarmed Levi.

"Who are you anyway? I surely don't see you around. Are you new here?" The young girl began to ask, momentarily stopping with her odd hobby.

Technically he was still new here since he and his uncle moved to this neighborhood two weeks ago, and it was the first time he went out of the house by himself. "Yeah. My name's Levi. And you are?"

The young girl grinned. "Nice to meet you, Levi! I'm Hange. Have you gone around the neighborhood?"

He really didn't know what compelled him to confirm that he really hadn't explored the place, but Levi just found himself being dragged along by this Hange girl who was weird, cheery, and seemed to know almost everyone in the area down to their favourite colours. She showed him her "secret places," which Levi supposed weren't secret anymore since he knew about it already. And while they walked, she told him more about the place, though he doubted he'd remember all of them right now.

All the while, Levi's sulking mood slowly ebbed as Hange entertained him like a proper hostess would.

"Where do you live, Levi?" she asked him nonchalantly. The young boy was aware that the grip she had on his hand loosened as they walked along the street.

"I live on Maria Street." He replied curtly, thoughts still occupied with her tiny (and not to mention clammy) hand on his.

She quickly turned to face him, eyes wide at his reply. "That's so far from here! How did you get to the playground by yourself? Did you get lost along the way?" He shook his head and frowned.

Hange sighed. "Wow."

It was almost sundown when both kids agreed that their adventure was finished for the day. They stopped in front of a two-storey house with patches of wildflowers peppered around the yard. The wildflowers reminded him so much of the state of her hair after their small adventure around the neighborhood, he almost chuckled at that thought.

"This is where I live," she mumbled. Levi noticed the way her hand slipped lazily from his, leaving his palm a little sweaty and empty. "Can you find your way home?"

The young boy snorted. "I've been here for two weeks already. Of course I can."

Hange giggled. "Okay. Goodbye, Levi. It's really nice to meet you."

And with that, the young girl ran to their porch without looking back, and inside the house when her mom finally opened the door. Levi didn't leave until he saw her enter.

The long walk home didn't seem so heavy compared earlier. Levi assumed that it was probably because his mood lightened up after the impromptu trip with Hange. He supposed Hange's cheery disposition probably rubbed on him somehow; she held his hand the whole time after all.

Suddenly, a meatphorical brick hit Levi on the head causing him to stop on his tracks as a dumb realization struck him.

Hange was probably the first girl-first kid, in fact-that didn't seem to be a little afraid of him. And she was the first one to ever hold his hand like people casually held hands everyday. Levi stared at his hand again and he swore he could still feel hers on it, but it wasn't just because it felt warm from her clammy hand; no. Levi's eyes narrowed in disbelief.

At the age of eight, Levi Ackerman had his first silly crush, and with a girl who got a kick dissecting dead animals no less.

This was when he started to agree that the world was an indeed odd place after all.


	2. Eight (Part 2) - Date

For those who reviewed/added this story in their follow/favourites list, thank you so much! :D Here's the second chapter, and they're still eight years old here. Anyway, as always, please let me know what you think. :D

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Eight (Part Two) - Date**

Levi found out that Hange went to the same school as he the following day, when he was suddenly aware of her existence, but they didn't belong to the same class. This didn't surprise him, though, since he never really bothered knowing everyone in his batch, just his classmates.

He was walking by himself when from a not-so-far away distance, he heard someone calling his name. Levi trained his ears to find where that soprano came from until he spotted Hange, her hair neatly tied up this time, waving her arm wildly at him, and wearing his school's uniform for girls. He didn't wave back of anything; he just waited for her to reach him, greeting him with a warm beam that was so warm he swore he could cook eggs with it. The corners of his lips tugged upwards slightly.

"Wow, so we go to the same school, huh?" she began nonchalantly, not even catching her breath as she once again found his hand and coaxed him to start walking. "Funny I don't ever see you at the bus stop, though."

"My uncle couldn't drive me to school today. The car's battery died, that's what he said." He told her, though it didn't really directly answered Hange's wondering.

She frowned in deep thought. "I always take the bus since my dad goes to work at night and has to sleep for the day while my mom has to take care of my baby brother."

Oh, so she had a sibling. Levi stored that new information in his brain for future use. He also made a mental note to try to ask his uncle if he could possibly commute on his way to school in the next days. Not that it was because of this girl walking alongside him.

They sat behind the driver's seat when they rode the bus. Hange told him that it was the easiest spot to get off from since it was closest to the door. That way, they didn't have to run through the aisle to get down before the driver closed the door. She sat by the window, and when she had settled, Hange remained quiet for the rest of the ride. Levi glanced at her every now and then, checking if she was alright. The soft smile on her face that was slightly reflected from the window told him she was fine.

"I like watching the streets go fast when I ride the bus." She suddenly quipped, that soft smile still present in her face. Levi only nodded even though she couldn't really see it.

Just as she said, the bus ride took them fifteen minutes-thirty five if they walked-and a few blocks away from their stop, the two youngsters were welcomed with the sight of their school gate.

Levi saw some of his classmates as they walked along the corridor. It was only that time when he noticed that Hange wasn't holding his hand anymore, but it wasn't like it meant the world to him. For crying out loud, he just met her yesterday. If he was in a rather gloomy mood, Hange was all smiles, greeting the students whom she knew. Levi found the contrast odd, kind of like how sometimes it rains on just one side of the same area. He was the rainy part, by the way.

He also learned that she belonged to Section 1, the creme de la creme. No wonder he didn't really notice her. He was from Section 4 (which wasn't that bad, he supposed, since there were 7 sections all in all). Besides, it wasn't Levi's thing to memorize every single data about his whole batch. For what would it amount anyway? Hange was the first person he knew who wasn't part of his class. Okay.

* * *

Breaks were usually spent eating in silence for him. Sometimes his seatmates would gather around him to eat with him, but when said seatmates were eager to spend their breaks outside the classroom, Levi would end up spending recess and lunch on his seat, munching on whatever his uncle packed for him.

Today was different. The door of his classroom slid noisily as Hange entered with her bento cradled on her arms. She was grinning, like she seemed to always do, as she moved closer to where he sat, the rightmost part of the room by the window. Levi didn't need any prompting as he carefully placed his spoon down in his lunchbox, stood up from his seat, and dragged a chair in front of his desk for Hange. His uncle did teach him about how to be a gentleman every now and then, though not exactly directly; he just watched how his uncle acted whenever he took him outside to eat or to stroll around.

Hange sat across him, placing her bento on his desk. She unfolded the cute large handkerchief, revealing a cute lunchbox, the shape a head of a cat–a maneki-neko, he recalled–as its design. Levi was kind of disappointed when the insides looked really messed up, probably from being cradled instead of holding it by the knot.

"Let's eat!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together, then digging in. "Don't you have other friends to eat with?" she asked before stuffing her mouth with half a sausage.

Levi swallowed his food before replying. "There's Eld and Gunther, but they're at the soccer field with the other guys. I didn't want to stay outside today. What about you? You know everyone."

The young girl chuckled. "No I don't! Just met some of them through my classmates. My parents told me it's rude not to greet people you know, so I smile at them. I talk and play with them sometimes."

"So today you're not going to play?"

"Maybe later, when I'm done eating." Her eyes lit up from behind her glasses. "Want to join us?"

Levi wasn't exactly lame. In fact, he did well in PE classes, but that was because they were graded, and they get to change uniforms after a round of intense battery tests or games. Silly as it sounded, the real reason why Levi didn't like spending his lunch outside engaging in physical activities was because he didn't want to be drenched in sweat for the remainder of the school hours. So there he was, sitting on the bleachers, his eyes following the ball while his peers played Monkey in the Middle. Hange was it a while ago. Now, she was at the corner, cackling and eagerly throwing the ball to the other kids. Levi's eyes didn't find the ball interesting anymore as he saw how her pigtails sagged from moving a lot, and how her glasses was tilted to the right from all the jumping, and how her uniform looked rumpled each time she caught the ball and pressed it on her chest. The young boy's nose crinkled.

Five minutes before the lunch bell rang, Hange's group stopped playing. She ran over to where Levi sat and presented herself in all her sweaty glory. She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the sleeve of her uniform, making Levi's nose crinkle once more.

"...Gross." He whispered. His eyes narrowed when he saw the dirt that stained her sleeve. Hange only giggled.

Something just snapped inside little Levi. He fished for his handkerchief and offered it to her. Hange alternately looked from his face to the pristine white handkerchief in front of her, as if asking Levi if he was serious about lending it to her.

"At least your uniform won't be dirtier from the sweat and dirt if you used this." He told her. Hange took it as an assurance that he was fine with letting her use it.

The young boy surprised even himself when he started straightening up the young girl's uniform, lightly patting the sleeves as he dusted it off. He ignored how sweaty it felt in his hands. He even went as far as parting her bangs neatly as she continued wiping the sweat of her neck. Hange didn't seem to mind, though. If anything, she was just watching him, a curious look printed on her face. She only shrugged when he was done fixing herself up.

"You sure are a neat freak, huh?" she commented, slightly smiling. Levi only frowned in reply.

The lunch bell rang. The kids outside ran inside the building as fast as they could to line up at the lobby. Hange's hand was on his again, dragging him with her as they made their way inside the noisy hall. Her hand left his when she turned round to look at him. "See you after school?"

Levi only nodded. He watched as Hange rushed to Section 1's line before lining up with his classmates. As each section went inside their classrooms in a single file, Levi's eyes would always land on the pigtailed girl, chatting up her classmate. Very talkative, he noted, but at least he didn't have to worry about keeping things interesting when they were together.

* * *

Levi's stuff had always been neatly replaced inside his school bag five minutes before the last class ended. So when the bell rang, he was one of the first students in his class to leave. His uncle was a pretty busy guy so he had to be by the school gate five minutes before his uncle arrived. He grabbed his bag and wore the strap across his shoulder and headed for the door. As always, the corridors were filled with chatter and laughter from the other students coming out of their rooms. Levi had mastered walking through the hallway without bumping to any of the kids who were horsing around the corridor.

From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Hange fixing her stuff inside her bag as he passed by Section 1's room. Her notebooks were scattered on her desk and she was in the process of stuffing her big Math book. He could've ignored her and went straight outside the school, but his feet somehow led him inside Section 1's room. The poor kid needed help organizing her stuff that he just couldn't resist it.

He carefully retrieved Hange's bag from her hands, catching her by surprise. She recovered after a few seconds and shrugged as she watched him arrange her stuff for her.

"We don't have any Math homework, right?" Levi spoke, his eyes never looking up at the young girl as he continued placing her notebooks inside her backpack. "Why are you bringing this home?"

She hummed in confirmation. "But mom said I should practice my Maths every time because it's the subject that's the hardest for me."

Levi looked up and met her eyes. "...Math is my favourite subject."

The young girl's face brightened at his confession. "Really? You think you can teach me?"

The young boy nodded. Hange rewarded him with a toothy grin. "Really, really?"

Levi sighed. "Yeah."

Hange punched the air in excitement. "I have to tell my parents!"

They went out of the school together, but this time they weren't holding hands or anything. Levi saw his uncle's car parked a few steps away from the school gate.

"Uh, I have to go. My uncle's there." He told Hange, turning his head to her. "...Need a ride home?"

Before Hange could reply, his uncle was already in front of them, donning a dress shirt, black slacks, and dress shoes like a respectable man. The two kids looked up to keep their gaze on his face.

"Who's this little friend of yours, huh, Levi?" he asked, smirking. Levi wished he didn't do that because it actually made him look sinister.

"She's Hange, and she lives around the neighborhood, too." The young boy said, looking at his uncle and Hange alternately.

His uncle kneeled to match their level (Levi thought he was too tall). "Hi Hange. I'm Levi's uncle, Uncle Kenny." The old man smiled, making the little girl smile shyly in return. "Why don't we drop you off to your place so you won't have to walk back by yourself?"

Levi looked hopefully at his companion. Hange casted him a look that asked for permission, and the young boy only shrugged in reply. The young girl returned her attention to the old man, grinning this time.

"Okay!" Hange exclaimed.

* * *

The ride home to the Ackermans was boring after they had dropped Hange off Rose Street, at least that was what Levi thought. He and his uncle weren't really the talkative type to begin with, and their conversations mostly centered around school or something his uncle saw on TV. Other than that, they mostly spent their time together in silence. Levi, though taciturn by nature, found this boring.

"I didn't think someone would want to be friends with a somber child like you." His uncle suddenly spoke.

He shrugged his shoulders. "She's the one who follows me around."

"Oh. And you don't mind?" He didn't miss the naughty glint on his uncle's eyes as a smirk formed on his face. Levi shot his uncle the scariest glare he could muster, daring him to go say what he was thinking.

* * *

"A study session, you say?" His uncle repeated as they talked about school over dinner. "So you'll be staying every afternoon at Hange's, you mean to say?"

The young boy nodded, his cheeks a little puffed from the food stuffed in his mouth.

Kenny narrowed his eyes when he met his nephew's eyes. "Sounds pretty harmless, so sure, I don't really mind."

Levi found it odd that Kenny didn't seem to have second thoughts or had many questions when he said yes to after school study sessions with Hange (since he usually didn't like him going out of the house that much because of "safety reasons," whatever those safety reasons were), but he wasn't complaining.

The young boy would be lying if he wouldn't admit, even to himself, that afternoons would be something he'd look forward to after a long day of school.


	3. Eight (Part 3) - Hobbies

New chapter, and the last of their eight-year-old arc/saga/volume/whatever this is called. :D I thought had about this for some time now, and maybe this story would be shorter than I expected it to be since it'll be segmented into certain periods of Hange's and Levi's lives instead of spelling out everything annually until I reach what I assume their ages are (I will cry forever). I also just read somewhere floating in the internet that Hange's actually younger than Levi, but I just read about that recently _soooooooooo_ for the sake of this story, I'll keep them as same-aged friends ohoho.

Thank you for the follows/favourites/reviews everyone! :D Here's the chapter three!

* * *

 **Chapter Three: Eight (Part 3) – Hobbies**

Even as a kid, Levi had no delusions about himself as his uncle did a pretty a good job reminding him of that whenever the old man could. One could say his uncle was pretty cutthroat in raising him, but Kenny only dismissed those claims, saying that it would be too troublesome if he inflated the kid's ego to the point of bursting. Whatever that meant, Levi supposed it was probably for his own good or something. So really, Levi's view of himself was pretty much grounded.

He knew he wasn't the brightest nor the dullest in the bunch, so even at his age, young Levi had learned to make his way through life as it was in order to thrive. Okay, so he might not be part of their class' top ten, but he still thought he was smart—a different kind of smart, if he might even call it. What children his age had that he lack, he made up for it by devising his own way of doing things, like memorizing. Levi hated memorizing, didn't have the flare for storing information just by repeatedly reading the texts in his books or listening attentively to his teachers during class. And even though his uncle would spend about an hour listening to him recite, and feeding him the words he forgot from the definitions that little Levi was sure his teacher would ask the following day, all of it fell short the moment his head hit the covers. He would wake up with his mind completely rid of what he just studied about.

However, Levi was a fighter. Fighters like him wouldn't go down just like that. No, he refused to go down just like that.

The young boy learned quickly that association made remembering stuff easier. For example, during their Music class, their teacher introduced to them the rests and their equivalent beats. In order for him to be able to identify the symbols, Levi wracked his brain for familiar things to associate with how the symbols looked like. The whole rest looked like a hat that was upside down, the quarter rest looked like the number three pleading for its life—and he did this because he knew how painful notation was for him, considering he almost had little to no interest in Music (but he was just as good as it as he was in Math anyway because there was so much Math in Music). And he did to every lesson, which allowed him to actually reach Section 4 by now. Association definitely played a role in bringing his grades up. Even his uncle who normally got frustrated in the middle of helping him with his homework was flabbergasted when he received Levi's report card prior to this school year.

Association was clearly a weapon that Levi perused to his benefit. He had also gotten so much better at remembering the names of his peers, something he also struggled with. But it wasn't because he didn't find them interesting or he found them dumb; he just wasn't good at it. And even if he did remember the names, he couldn't match them with the faces.

He started with his classmates, his friends in particular. Gunther's extra hair sticking up the back of his head reminded him of shoots, and Eld reminded him of Legolas, who was an Elf but without those pointy ears. He used to call them in his head by his own nicknames: Gunther was identified as 'onion sprout,' and Eld, 'Legolas.' In fact, he had nicknames for almost everyone he met.

Levi especially enjoyed giving nicknames to his teachers. He identified his homeroom teacher as 'Fancy Pants' just because he always came to school dressed impeccably (something he actually wanted to look like when he grew up. Levi liked it so much when people were dressed sharply). Then there was this really pretty History teacher whom he suspected every boy in their grade had a crush on. Yeah, he could see the appeal. Aside from her pretty face, pretty smile, and long brown hair that never seemed to tangle even when there was wind, she was smart and funny. She was kind, too. So Levi gave her the name, 'Goddess,' fitting for someone so divine like her (and though Levi recognized those things, no, he didn't have a crush on his teacher). Their Art teacher reminded him so much of his uncle's quiet and seemingly mysterious nature, but since she was a woman, she called him 'Auntie.' The young boy was just happy that Auntie wasn't brooding like his uncle—just quiet. Then there was their Math teacher, his favourite teacher, Ms. Elisabeth. She was already married to some professor in some university, and they have three kids already, with the youngest being in high school now. Levi liked how mellow she was during class time. He also liked the attention she'd shower him whenever he got the right answers. In his eyes, he was 'Mom.'

Of course this would lead eventually to Hange. The first time he saw her, he thought she was weird. He called her psycho, and would've remained so if he didn't end up being friends with her. After all, it helped him understand the kind of person Hange was, and she was everything he didn't dream of, with all honesty. She spent most of her free time outside the house in search of... anything, and she had no concept of personal space at all! Every time she would find something—some insect or rocks that looked the same to him—she would hold it so close to his face he could almost taste them. At the end of the day, she would reek of sweat and dung from all the rolling and crawling on the grass she'd been doing in the name of adventure (as she called it). Levi had come up with silly names like 'Damsel of the Dung,' with 'Four Eyes' being the tamest of them all. He supposed he'd come up with even more in the coming days.

It had become his secret hobby, actually, and he enjoyed every single minute of cooking up creative names for people without them knowing. At least his hobby wasn't dissecting dead animals, which he still found incredibly gross and downright weird, by the way.

* * *

Aside from giving people nicknames, when he was still his only friend, Levi spent his free time climbing on top the roof of their small house just to watch the sky. He would look at the clouds and try to make something out of the fleeting formations, and would hope for the best that the birds wouldn't dump on the rooftops or on top of his head. The first time it happened, the young boy nearly cried washing it off his hair because it was so, so dirty, and the texture reminded him of vomit. His uncle only watched him in amusement by the bathroom door.

He would stay there until the sun began to set, when the sky painted pretty colours before everything went dark. It wasn't like his uncle looked for him when he was home (and Kenny rarely was with the nature of his work. The only time he got to spend much with Kenny was during the weekends, when he would take him out to eat or brought him to work whenever he was summoned at such short notice). The only time Levi didn't stay there was during the rainy season.

When he met Hange, his weekday afternoons turned out to be study sessions with free food, courtesy of Mrs. Zoe, and his weekends was spent in the playground where they first met, where he started to meet new kids, thanks to hanging around with Hange. Sometimes his uncle would watch them from one of the concrete benches and wait until playtime was finished so that he could bring him home. As a kid who was used to having so much time in his hands being alone, Levi strangely felt as if he was some busy man with a tight schedule, which was pretty silly. How could he know what a busy man with a tight schedule felt like? He was only flipping eight.

Among all those activities, the one he enjoyed the most was the weekend mornings at one of her (now _their_ ) secret places. Whenever there wasn't homework to do on weekends, Hange would drop by at the Ackermans, and Kenny would let her in. She would dash upstairs, all the way to the last room in the hall while yelling, "Leeevvviiiiiii! I'm heeeeeerre!" Levi would pretend to still be asleep despite being woken up to an excited young girl's scream and hearing the familiar footfalls approaching his room. After all, it was only seven in the morning on a weekend. Who else woke up at seven in the flipping morning on a flipping weekend? Hange Zoe, apparently.

So his bedroom door would flung open, and he would feel his bed shift as the young girl climbed on his bed. He would feel the familiar weight of Hange settle on his legs and would feel the familiar warmth of her hands on his arm as she shook him awake.

"Hey, Levi! Let's go and try to catch those tiny fish with our hands again!"

This was the part where he would pretend to stir in his sleep, scrunch his face as the morning light from his bedroom window hit his eyes, and look at the beaming girl almost looming at his figure.

"It's only seven, Hange. Can't we go there a little later?" the young boy grumbled, adjusting his blanket to cover his face as he attempted to go back to sleep again.

The young girl shook him harder. "We can't. I'm here now. Let's go!"

Levi removed the sheet covering his face to glare at her. "Right now? I haven't even taken a bath, silly girl."

"I haven't either. I mean, we'll get dirty from playing anyway, so let's just take a bath after that. Now, wake up, Levi, let's go! The fish won't wait for us, you know!" This time Hange tugged at his sheets with urgency.

He sat straight almost immediately, sending Hange tumbling on the other side of the bed. Good thing the girl got good reflex and was able to keep herself from hitting the floor. "What do you mean you just went here without washing up?!"

She rolled her eyes. "I brushed my teeth this time, okay?"

The young boy flinched at the memory of the first time Hange woke him up, only to send him back to sleep when her mouth got too close for comfort on his face. Seriously, this girl needed to be taught a thing or two about taking care of herself.

Levi sighed in defeat. "Okay. Just at least let me brush my teeth, too, before we go."

* * *

Hange told him randomly over one of their lunch times about the first time she learned how to ride a bike. Mr. Zoe went home from work with a small bike that one of his colleagues gave him after his son couldn't fit in the bike anymore. Hange found the bike parked at their porch one sunny weekend, and asked what that was all about. Her grin was so wide she thought the corners of her mouth and her cheeks would hurt the whole day, when her dad announced that it was a gift for her. It was Mr. Zoe who taught her how to ride a bike.

Hange only used her bike whenever she would go to her secret places. Now that he was tagging along (or more like she forcibly tagged him along), he would sit on the tiny board behind the seat where she usually placed her stuff, much to his chagrin. It was awkward at first with him being extremely close to her, he could actually kiss her back. It made the ride even more awkward when he was left with no choice but to circle his arm around the young girl to keep himself from falling off. As far as his childish head could think of, Levi thought that it was supposed to be him riding on the driver seat with Hange clinging on for her life behind him. Obviously that wasn't the case. Besides, little Levi had no idea how to ride a bike.

So Hange had a brilliant idea of teaching him. The young girl was even more excited than he was, quite frankly. He supposed life wouldn't be so bad even if her never knew how to ride one, but Hange was very willing to impart what little knowledge she had about biking that he had no choice but to bend and submit to her whim.

Reaching for the pedals weren't a problem. Lucky for him, he was just as tall as Hange was. The young girl oriented him about the breaks, but he couldn't really hear her clearly with her hands closed over his on the handles. He was too distracted from how ridiculously sweaty it was.

"Okay, so now, how about you try to balance yourself and see how long you can keep yourself from falling on the side? Can you do it, Levi?"

Levi snapped back to reality at the sound of his name. "Huh? I guess?"

Hange smiled. "Okay then. Lift up your feet and place them on the pedals. I'm going to let go of the bike slowly, okay?"

He nodded as he looked down and made sure that both his feet were placed correctly on the pedals just like how she showed him.

"Okay," came the young girl's whisper. "Go forward slowly. I'm still here."

The young boy did as he was told. 'Relax your muscles,' 'step on the pedals as if you're walking, but your feet are moving in circles,' 'sit straight, and don't lean too much on one side,' and all the other reminders that Hange mumbled as she trailed behind him somehow relieved him of the small anxiety from doing something for the first time.

Levi was finally learning how to ride a bike.

A small, almost unnoticeable smile crept on his lips as he felt himself slowly getting used to the movements that he just started to pick up a few hours ago. Hange was still behind him, hands tucked under the seat.

"That's it, Levi, you're doing fine!" she encouraged. Levi could almost imagine her face shining brightly with pride at his small achievement.

For the first time since God knew when, he learned something new again. Maybe if he practiced more and asked Hange to teach him after their study sessions, he'd get a hang of it. Hange wouldn't have to always be the one to bring them to the secret places; he could take his turn, too. He did find it unfair that she was the one doing most of the pedaling. Levi made a mental note to talk about this new experience to his uncle over dinner later.

* * *

He wasn't exactly sure why he was thrilled when he found out that Hange actually had another hobby that didn't require so much mess, but Levi was, and he wasn't even sure if the young girl was aware of this very normal, very human, and unlikely hobby of hers.

Hange Zoe liked to sing. To her credit, she actually had a pretty sounding soprano.

Levi found this out the first time when they were walking around the neighbourhood in search of whatever Hange suddenly found interesting and worth investigating. A friendly kind of silence hung around them as they walked side by side on that quiet morning. He was busy looking ahead while the young girl pretty much absorbed everything they saw from dog poop to the lone leaf hanging for its dear life on a tree. Then he heard it. It started with a hum and shortly grew into singing, complete with intelligible lyrics that Levi recognized to be some old song that he usually heard every time his uncle tuned in to his favourite radio station on Sundays. He had to do a double take to make sure that the voice did come from this messy, silly girl he was always with.

So she was capable of enjoying normal things, huh?

He didn't speak about it around her. He just listened to her sing absently when they sat on the bus going to school and the radio played a song she knew, when he watched her as she arranged the leaves she found on the ground according to height and colour and she would silently sing to herself, or whenever she would go inside her house to fetch a box of juice for both of them and would automatically burst into song about friendship, unity, and whatever. Levi wondered if she was even aware of how nice her voice was to the ears. She should've joined their school's glee club.

One Saturday afternoon, Hange's mom had some errands to take care of, and her dad was called to show up to work, so they spent their afternoon playing at the Zoes. Mrs. Zoe already cooked some pies for them in case they got hungry, and had left Hange with a list of emergency numbers and directions of what to do about her brother. Levi found out that she was pretty capable on her own despite them being kids. She knew how to operate the oven, knew how long it took for the water to boil, and knew how her brother's formula milk should taste like. It was pretty interesting watching Hange looking after things that he couldn't help but smile a little every time she would stop whatever it was she was doing to check on some things.

They were busy watching cartoons when something like a cross between a screech and a shriek pierced their ears coming from her brother's room. Hange straightened up in no time and hurried to the small room near the living room where his brother was, followed shortly by Levi.

"Hi Ezra! It's me, Hange, you're big sister," she whispered as she lifted her brother up from his sleeping mat and carried him, caressing his brother's back. "Are you hungry? But I just fed you not so long ago."

Levi looked on in amusement as the young girl talked to the baby as if she could really understand what his cries meant. Hange rocked herself a bit in an attempt to calm her brother down, which was somewhat effective since his cries were reduced to sobs.

And there it was again: Hange's pretty sounding soprano.

He was pretty sure he was going to deny ever looking like some silly little boy in love as he leaned sideways on the doorframe, a lazy smile crossing his usually disinterested face, while he listened to Hange singing to her brother a lullaby.

* * *

Extra:

Levi yawned for the third time that afternoon as he and Hange settled once more on the couch in the living room. Ezra finally fell asleep again, so they were able to resume watching the afternoon cartoons on TV. But when the cartoons weren't so pleasing and entertaining anymore, both kids decided to distract themselves with whatever their hands and minds got them busy. Hange read some picture book to waste the time away, while Levi contented himself with Hange's unsolved Rubik's Cube.

He could feel his eyes getting heavier by the minute, but since he wasn't in his house, the young boy kept himself from succumbing to the call of slumber. Levi learned it was a tough battle.

"Levi?"

"Hm?"

The young girl who sat across him on the couch grinned, a teasing glint decorating her eyes. "Are you feeling sleepy? Your head has been bobbing up and down since earlier."

He only snorted. "Just... bored, I guess."

She snickered. "You don't have to be shy, Levi. You can sleep here on the couch."

"I'm not sleepy."

But his body betrayed him. Levi wasn't able to fight the yawn from escaping his mouth a few seconds after denying that he was feeling sleepy. Hange chuckled and shook her head. She grabbed one of the throw pillows she was leaning on and placed it on her lap.

"Come here, Levi." She said as she smoothed the throw pillow and patted it.

He narrowed his eyes.

The young girl rolled her eyes and sighed. "Gee, Levi, you don't have to be shy about feeling sleepy. If you're really sleepy then go to sleep. I won't mind. Really." She coaxed him, grinning. "I'll even sing you a song to help you sleep better!"

Levi couldn't remember what exactly happened or if Hange told him anything that made him finally relent to her generous offer, but he wouldn't forget how pleasant her voice was as the words of the song danced in his ears and the feel of her hand on his hair as it caressed the side of his head. He slept so soundly that time that Mr. Zoe had to call his uncle to pick little Levi up.


	4. Twelve - Changes

Life happened so this took me a while to upload here.

 **To Kry:** Thank you for reading this! After reading your review, I reread my story and realized that yeah, Levi and Hange did sound a lot older than eight. I've always had problems about writing dialogues for kids (they're a lot harder than I thought), so I'll work on that. I hope in this chapter, though, they sound a little more than their age. I hope. Hahaha! Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you continue to follow this story. :D

Once again, thank you for reviewing/following/adding this to your favourites list. I'm honestly all smiles each time I'm notified that people follow/review/add this story to their favourites list because with a lot of SnK fics featuring this pairing that have really amazing and exciting plot, people actually take time to read this, and it makes me happy. :D I feel the love.

* * *

 **Chapter Four: Twelve – Changes**

One of the few things that Levi agreed strongly with the rest of the world was how puberty could be so cruel or godsend, depending whether it favoured you or found your life as some sick joke or something. For the most part, puberty had been kind to young Levi. Though he never concerned himself with looks, he thought he didn't really look so bad. Sure, there were zits here and there, but they were never so noticeable that he'd actually be self-conscious about it. His face wasn't oily, too, but then again, Levi was very clean when it came to his body. Generally, Levi was quite happy with puberty so far, except for one thing.

"May we request the students of 6-4 to line up outside the clinic for the annual medical check-up. Thank you."

The young lad groaned. It was that time of the month again. Levi grumbled as he replaced his chair under his desk.

At least he'd get this over with almost immediately since his surname started with the letter A, and he was student number 1 in his class. The rest of his classmates lined up according to their class number, with Levi in front, which was incidentally very fitting with his stature. He groaned even more and rolled his eyes.

"Can Levi Ackerman please come inside?" The school nurse called out as she poked her head out of the clinic's door.

The young boy nodded in acknowledgement, and slid the door close behind him as soon as he was in. Levi sighed dejectedly as he began removing his school shoes before getting on the weighing scale. The school nurse flashed him a gentle smile as she started adjusting the metal until the scale stopped wobbling. She briefly wrote his weight down on his health sheet before setting up the rod attached to the scale to measure his height. Much to the young lad's chagrin, the school nurse didn't have to extend it so much since his height didn't change much since last year. _He was still bleeping 4'10" thank you very much_.

Levi was very aware that he was vertically-challenged, and he'd be lying if he denied that it was a source of his frustration. This stupid weighing scale didn't have to remind him. This stupid annual medical exam surely didn't have to rub it in his face. His peers didn't have to make it obvious by towering over him _oh my goodness_. Of all the things that he could lack, it had to be height.

Which actually bothered him, with all frankness. Levi made sure he slept enough, drank his milk, and ate healthily, but it seemed like it didn't do anything to make him grow like the others. He remembered Hange talking about genes, some smart science crap she learned from her dad apparently, and how it affected kids when they were born. Levi didn't have such rich memories with his mother since she died at a very young age, which was why he was now under the custody of his uncle, but from the little he remembered about her, he was dead certain that she was slim and tall (and pretty, too, he recalled). Even his uncle Kenny was slender and tall as well. So what happened to him?

Perhaps he got it from his father? He never met nor knew his father after all.

"Hm? You wanna know how your dad looks like?" Kenny repeated his query just to make sure he heard the kid right.

Levi nodded. "Do you know how he looks like? How tall was he?"

Kenny snorted and shrugged his shoulders. "Never met him so we'll never know."

Levi just assumed he got his awful height from his dad. Who else could he blame?

Hange, on the other hand, was smiled upon by the universe when it came to growth. For the longest time, Levi only had to look at his eye level to meet Hange's eyes, but now he had to tilt his head at an angle of about 20 degrees just to look her in the eye. He found it so embarrassing most of the time.

Of course, the height difference didn't go unnoticed by Hange. In fact, she was the first one who pointed out about his height, or lack thereof. Now, the young lad was subject to the young lass' teasing every now and then, and sometimes when she was feeling really generous with the joking, Hange would affectionately ruffle his hair every time she annoyed him and he would shoot her a glare in response. She would even kid around every time they'd have to share an umbrella (whenever she forgot to bring hers), grabbing it from him and saying, 'the taller one has to hold the umbrella regardless of gender,' followed by sticking her tongue out. Levi swore each time that he would grab and yank her tongue out of her body along with her entrails if she spoke about his short stature ever again.

Of course Hange never listened, and Levi never really followed through with that threat. It was downright disgusting just thinking about it.

* * *

"Hange," Levi called out from outside her bedroom door after knocking, "Hange, it's me, Levi. Are you there?"

He heard some sheets shifting and a low groan, probably from Hange herself, from where he stood as he waited for the door to open. The lock clicked, the knob turned, and when the door swung open, the colour of Levi's face left when he saw the sorry state of the young lass.

Her hair was sticking out from all over the place, she was squinting from the lack of spectacles, she looked so pale and dull, far from the usual cheery Hange he was accustomed to, and her clothes were rumpled. Nevertheless, Hange managed to crack her usual kooky grin when she recognized him. "Oh, hi! What's up with the visit? You missed me already? But I was only gone for a day."

The young lad frowned. "Look at you. Have you seen yourself in the mirror?"

She opened the door wider and motioned for him to enter. "I missed you, too, Levi." She said flatly.

It was the first time he had ever been inside Hange's room even though they've been friends for about four years now. Well, it was the first time he'd ever been to a girl's room before, so he really couldn't say something about his friend's room, except it wasn't as sloppy as he expected it to be considering it belonged to Hange. The books on her shelf were actually arranged according to titles and height, her desk might have some crumpled papers on it, though they were swept on the side, and her room actually reeked of citrus smelling spray. So the girl could be clean, too, if she wanted to, huh?

He placed the notebooks he carried all the way to school on the empty spot on her desk as Hange once again climbed back to her bed, groaning and prostrated under the blanket she was holding earlier. Levi raised an eyebrow at the pitiful sight.

"Mr. Shadis told me to bring your homework for you since you didn't come to school today," he began as he pulled Hange's chair to sit on it. "Why were you absent anyway?'

The young lass removed the blanket covering her head and turned to face Levi, still prostrated and her face was contorted to a cross between constipated and grateful. Whichever was appropriate, Levi couldn't really tell because he had no idea what the bloody hell was up with this weird kid.

"It's my first day." She briefly supplied.

Levi shot her a confused look. "First day of what? Of being weirder than you already are?"

The young lass just rolled her eyes and snorted at the insult. "No. I'm bleeding, Levi. I started bleeding on a monthly basis just a few months ago and I can tell you that it's one of the yuckiest and ugliest feeling in the world."

Levi's nose crinkled at her description. Those lessons in their Health and Science classes suddenly flooded his head as he searched for what exactly was going on with the girl. She was on her period.

"That bad?"

She nodded slowly. "It wasn't this bad the first time, though. I don't want to move. Every time I do, I can feel huge chunks of blood come out from where it drips out. It's horrible."

The young lad shook his head even before his mind could even conjure a mental image that would haunt him in his idle times. "The hell, Hange. You didn't need to tell me that, _thank you very much._ "

Hange looked up at Levi, brows furrowed. "But it is, I'm telling you. Of course you'd never understand. And let me tell you, it's probably worse than the pain from having your foreskin peeled considering _I_ have to go through this _until I reach my fifties_."

"Sucks for you then, I guess."

The girl pouted. "Have a little heart, Levi. I've been lying on my bed like this for almost the entire day."

He stretched his arm out to where he placed the notebooks on her desk. "I do have a little heart. Look."

Hange shot him a blank look before covering her face with her blanket once more and muttering, "Whatever, Levi. Stupid heartless short boy."

"Thanks for the compliment, four eyes." He retorted, smirking, clearly enjoying this exchange.

"I'm not even wearing my glasses, doofus."

This could be an unpopular opinion on Levi's part, but Hange on her period and being all whiny like a kid who didn't get any candy... was actually something he found cute. Adorable even.

Good heavens, he'd been hanging around Hange too much now, her quirkiness was starting to rub on him.

* * *

There was something... odd about Hange today, and Levi had been (secretly) obsessing about pinpointing what it was since he saw her at the school gate this morning. He nearly missed his Science teacher asking him a question in class just because he'd been figuring out the one strange thing that made Hange seem a little different than usual.

"Is there something wrong, Levi?" the young girl asked, her face flashing a concerned look.

Levi didn't realize that he had been squinting hard and at Hange of all people, so he cleared his throat and composed himself. "Nothing's wrong."

Hange raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean nothing's wrong? You've been staring at me intently ever since you saw me, and you're doing it again. It's almost creepy."

The young boy frowned. "Did you do something with yourself, Hange?"

She cocked her head to the side and smiled slightly. "Oh, I'm not wearing my pigtails anymore, you mean?"

A lightbulb switched on Levi's mind and his face relaxed. "Yeah, it's the pigtails, I knew it."

"Why? Do you miss them? My pigtails?" She chuckled, bits of her food spurting out, "that's so weird, Levi!"

His scowl deepened. "No, Hange. I just thought something's different about you today."

She shook her head and clucked her tongue in fake disappointment. "But I've been wearing my hair in ponytail since last week, my dear. You just haven't been looking closely, that's all."

The young boy's face was coloured dumbfounded. "Since last week?"

Hange nodded. "So... you like it?"

"Like what?"

"My ponytail," the young girl lightly whipped her hair to let him see. "It's not so hard to tie it up compared to pigtails, plus I can't be wearing pigtails forever now, can I?"

Hange seriously had no idea of the effects she had on Levi ever since, which was both poison and cure for the young lad. Levi had to keep his jaw from dropping slightly at the sight of the young girl blinking prettily and smiling normally (like how people were supposed to smile like, in Levi's opinion) as she waited for his reply. The afternoon sun chose this time to shine through the window to make Hange's face look even more radiant than it normally was. If this were some scene straight off from some manga, Hange would've been surrounded by ridiculously big clumps of roses and those shoujo sparkly bubbles painstakingly pointed by some poor manga assistant in charge of backgrounds.

Levi Ackerman was officially screwed.

When Hange cleared her throat, the young lad was once again back inside the classroom, eating his lunch with her, and still had to tell her if he preferred her ponytail over her tacky pigtails.

"Yeah," he mumbled, looking away coolly, hoping the girl wouldn't sense his embarrassment before continuing, "it suits you better."

"Thank you." Hange cheerily said, her face dusted with pink.

A tiny spark of hope (for what, Levi had yet to figure out) lit inside the young lad when he noticed that Hange had kept her hair tied in a ponytail in the coming days.

* * *

The first time Levi cursed in public was when he was twelve.

It happened during one of their Science experiments inside the lab. They were working on the typical volcano project consisting of vinegar, baking soda, and food colour. While he and one of his groupmate, Gunther, were working on building their volcano, Eld had this silly idea of including Mentos in the experiment, claiming that it'd make the eruption look more realistic, as he learned from one of the online videos he watched one time. He just shrugged at the idea, not really minding it so much in favour of creating their scaled model. When they were done with the model, the three boys positioned themselves near their project, all standing on their respective stools and all excited for the result of their experiment. They made a huge mistake, though; all three boys poured the ingredients simultaneously inside their volcano instead of following the instructions that their instructor provided for them. When Eld dropped the Mentos he was able to snake inside the lab, disaster spelled for the whole group.

To summarize, they caused a huge mess inside the lab, they had to endure the rest of the day drenched in vinegar and looking like they just came from a fight because of the red dye, and Levi accidentally yelled _"shit,_ " as he stumbled and fell off his stool.

Intentional or not, it didn't go unheard by their Science teacher.

So here he was now, cleaning the entire 6th grade hallway, all for blurting out 'shit' in class. His uncle was summoned that day, too, and was currently inside the guidance office. The young lad sighed tiredly.

"I heard what happened." a familiar voice echoed through the empty hallway. Levi turned round and found Hange approaching him, mop in one hand. She chuckled as soon as she was standing in front of him. "For someone so allergic to filth, you have a pretty dirty mouth."

He rolled his eyes. "Shut up, four eyes."

She also did the same. "Yeah, yeah, sure." The young girl dismissed, waving her hand at him. "Anyway, let me help you with this. I don't think Mr. Shadis would mind."

Levi only watched as Hange sloppily placed the mop inside the bucket and struggled to maneuver the whole thing in an attempt to clean the floor. After a few minutes of Hange grunting and the horrible screeching sound of metal hitting the tiled floor rhythmically, Levi leaned his mop on the wall and walked towards the young lass who looked ridiculously determined to finish her side of the hallway, tongue sticking out in between her lips and brows furrowed. He almost laughed.

"That's not how it's done. You're going to ruin all the tiles of the 6th grade corridor with what you're doing." He reprimanded, though there wasn't any hint of sharpness in his tone.

The young girl turned to face him, a teasing smirk painted on her face. "Okay then. _Show me_."

On any normal day, Levi would be fully aware of everything that he was doing and why he was doing things, but this wasn't a normal day for he was being punished for cussing. Levi never gotten into trouble at school no matter how he looked like a troublemaker.

So he did just what she told him to do, which was to show her how mopping was done. He repositioned Hange's hands on the handle and held it in place as he moved to stand behind her. With all honestly, it looked ridiculous to a certain extent because Hange towered over him now and Levi had to really strain his neck to see in front.

On any normal day, Levi would find this cliché horrible. Good thing Hange was such a good sport.

"So, Levi, what really happened back there?" Hange asked, not turning her head to face him. "Someone from your class told me a bit of the story, but of course, it was only up to the part where you yelled, uh, what was it? Shit, right? Yeah, only up to that."

The young boy sighed before answering. "Eld, Gunther, and I were playing around during the experiment then it went wrong. While everything's happening, I yelled, 'shit,' and Mr. Shadis didn't miss it."

Hange clucked her tongue. "Next time, you better make sure there aren't any teachers in the place before you open your dirty mouth."

"The hell was that supposed to mean?"

"I'm saying, if you're gonna get yourself in trouble, you might as well do it without getting caught. Oh, and Levi," the young girl paused, "I think I can manage mopping on my own now."

It was only then that the young lad noticed that he was still holding Hange in position. "Oh," was all he could say as he retracted his hands from hers, as if she was a carrier of some contagious disease. Levi even stepped away from her for added measure. "...I'll finish where I left off." He mumbled as he hurried and grabbed the mop he left leaning on the wall.

The two fell into a friendly kind of quiet as they both finished cleaning the 6th grade hallway. When it came to the windows, Levi made sure that Hange wiped it enough without leaving even a trace of dried dust that could cloud the glass the following day when it dried. Punishment or not, if he had to clean something up, he might as well do a spectacular job of it. The people helping him should do the same, he thought.

"Four eyes, I hope you're kidding when you suggested about not getting caught when causing trouble. You of all people should know better." He said, breaking the silence between them as they arranged the cleaning implements inside the custodian's storage.

Hange let out a silly laugh, one that Levi didn't know she was capable of. But then again, this was Hange, and Hange was capable of a lot of things that surprised him to no end.

"Of course I was only _kidding_. Goodness, Levi. You think I'd even get myself into trouble?" She said, giggling like an idiot. Levi snorted.

"I hope when they catch you redhanded they'd make you clean this entire place."

Levi nearly kissed the dirty floor of the cramped storage room when Hange jokingly slapped him hard on his left shoulder. "You're such a nice friend, Levi. The bestest friend there is."

He righted himself before facing his companion. "What are you? Three years old? Use words properly."

The young lass only rolled her eyes and grinned. "Sure, Mr. Grumpy Pants."

Levi raised an eyebrow. "How creative... _shitty glasses._ "

"Oooh, I'm _so_ offended." Hange mocked.


	5. Sixteen (Part 1) - Social

Somehow, Safari won't let me upload my stories directly, so I had to download it off my phone, upload it via Chrome, then edit the hell out of the copy-pasted text fresh from OpenOffice. XD Life is hard when you don't have a laptop. Yet.

Anyway, sorry for the late update. I've also been catching up with my other stories here, and doing a major revision on one. If you're interested, you may want to check my profile and read the other stories I'm currently finishing. :D

Thank you for the follows/favourites/reviews! :D It still thrills me each time I'm notified. And to those who are secretly enjoying (I hope so) reading this, thank you to you, too.

Let's fast forward to four years later, when both Hange and Levi are high school freshmen.

* * *

 **Chapter Five: Sixteen (Part 1) - Social**

It just so happened that Levi and Hange both passed and entered the same high school at Trost District. For one, it wasn't that far from where they lived, and two, the tuition was affordable and promised quality high school education for those who chose to study there. Well, that only applied for Levi since Hange's mom had once again come back to teaching, and was currently part of the pool of teachers of Trost District Public School, which meant free schooling! That wasn't so bad. This school truly wasn't so bad. And they were still together. It meant Levi didn't have to struggle so much in making connections with Hange doing most of the work. He could be his quiet self.

This time, Hange and Levi both belonged to Section 2, but with having surnames so far from each other in the alphabet, they both stayed on the corners of their classroom with Levi situated at the leftmost corner of the first row and Hange on the rightmost corner of the last row. So the balance of the universe was still very much present.

Adjustment period wasn't so difficult considering everyone in their batch were pretty much new students just like them, so they were all groping together in the dark as they all discover how this whole high school thing worked. The only adjustment that Levi had to make was to wake up earlier than usual so that he and Hange could go to school together, as suggested by Mrs. Zoe. He'd walk to Hange's house and wait for them to get ready, and Mrs. Zoe would bring them there via car. Early mornings at the school grounds didn't prove to be so boring with Hange around.

Actually, he was never bored when Hange's around. The girl still talked unendingly as if she had her own radio show. They would sometimes talk about the most random and mundane topics that Hange's head could think of, and he really didn't mind so much as long as it was interesting. Sometimes they would talk about their homework (he still helped her with Math, though she'd gotten remarkably better compared to when they were in grade school) or the things Hange noticed about their different subject teachers. Sometimes Levi wondered if Hange ever seriously paid attention to class with all the trivial details she was able to store in that crazy head of hers. Like the number of times their antsy Basic Chemistry teacher would stammer when discussing, or the various tones that their History teacher used depending on the mood he was in. Levi had this habit of observing people, but not as keen as Hange did, he realized, and for some reason, it made Hange even more... likable in his eyes. Seriously though, Levi sometimes thought of himself greatly when it came to loyalty. Look, there wasn't even some solid non-platonic commitment going on, and yet here he was, still crushing over his childhood friend who was perhaps the weirdest being that has ever walked this planet. What a loyal young man. He should get an award or something.

As to why Levi preferred not to act on his feelings, the young lad didn't really want to complicate anything. They were high school freshmen, they just got here a few months ago, and there were so many things he could busy himself with other than acting on his feelings and inviting drama in his life. And besides, as long as no one noticed (save for his uncle), then nobody would bother asking him of his plans.

So you see, Levi wasn't only fiercely loyal; he was also a _very_ secretive boy—tough to crack, hard to reach. Yeah right, unless you're Hange, that is. At the back of the young lad's mind, he wanted to vomit at how cliché and cheesy that sounded. Perhaps one day he'd really vomit because of that.

So he contented himself with what they have now—a weird kind of friendship between two weird teenagers (Levi used to think differently of himself until he came to a conclusion that he was probably just as strange as this girl was for sticking around). It was tons better than nothing.

Their small circle soon grew. The first one to join them was this pretty girl named Nanaba, her blonde hair reminding Levi of bananas, Cavendish to be precise, so he never forgot her name. Compared to Hange, she was soft-spoken, though very sporty. He found it out the hard way when their class had a volleyball match against each other, and he had to be the receiving end of Nanaba's powerful spike, hitting him squarely in the head when he attempted to keep the ball from hitting their court (which was really a stupid idea in the first place because spikers were supposed to be tall, and Levi was _still bleeping far from being tall_. He didn't faint, though, but my goodness did his head hurt for the rest of the day. It did open a door for her to apply for the school's volleyball varsity, so all was well. Well, not for Levi and the lump that formed on his head after.

Nanaba was actually a good companion to Hange—able to balance the latter's pent up energy with her sober temperament. Every lunch time, the three of them would gather at Hange's area in the classroom and eat together.

Levi made a friend, too, sort of. Actually, it was more due to circumstances than wanting to really make friends with others. Whenever their teachers would ask them to pair up with their seatmates, Levi had no choice but to work with his interesting seatmate, Oluo. He looked quite old for their age, but his trying-so-hard-to-be-that-cool-kid facade would instantly convince Levi that he and Oluo were definitely of the same age. The first time he worked with him, he had to keep himself from drawing out sarcastic remarks and scoffs at Oluo. They almost sounded alike, it creeped him out sometimes. Nonetheless, Levi didn't mind being around this Oluo person so much because he was just as hardworking as he was, only he would rub it in anybody's face each opportunity he got. And even though he didn't seem like it, he was pretty sharp in classes, too. Sometimes Levi felt like this kid was competing against him, but he'd automatically shrug it off and mind his own.

Deep inside, Levi had a good feeling about Oluo. But he could really be irritating to deal with sometimes.

* * *

Levi's phone rang in the middle of the night.

He could hear some shrieking and giggling and soft music playing from the other line. It took a few seconds for Nanaba to respond. "Oh, Levi! I'm so sorry to call you around this hour, but..."

His eyes narrowed at the way she trailed. "But what?" Something must have come up.

He heard Nanaba sigh. "I need help bringing Hange home."

Levi sat up straight from his bed at the sound of Hange's name. "What happened?"

"Well, we went out for some girl bonding since we have no school tomorrow, right? So we ended up here, in a karaoke place somewhere in Trost District—the name's Music 101—and... things got a little wild." The young girl paused. "I'm sorry."

Levi's brows furrowed. "Things got a little wild?" he repeated. "What did Hange do this time?" he asked as he began looking for his jacket inside his closet.

"Oh, we all agreed to order one bottle of beer—I _swear_ just one—but somehow Hange ended up drinking the remaining beer that Nifa and Lynne didn't finish. I didn't know she was _that_ bad with alcohol." Nanaba paused to exhale, obviously panicking. "I'm really sorry, Levi."

Levi scowled as he finished dressing up in the process of listening to Nanaba's story. "How drunk is she?"

"She hasn't stripped yet— _thank God_ —but she's been singing and crying at the same time for the last fifteen minutes. I just... I just really don't know what to do anymore, Levi, so I called you up." He could hear the mix of desperation and relief in Nanaba's tone.

The young lad grabbed his spare house keys inside his desk drawer as he balanced his phone between his shoulder and his cheek. "Okay, I'll get there as soon as I can. Keep her from doing anything stupid.

Nanaba sighed for the nth time that night. "Oh gosh, thank you, Levi, and I'm sorry, too. We'll wait for you. Bye."

Levi ended the call and sighed exasperatedly. Of all the things Hange had to get into, it had to be getting drunk inside a karaoke bar.

"Kenny!" the young lad called out as he rushed downstairs, zipping up his jacket, "Kenny, I'll be out for a while. I'm picking up four eyes."

His uncle looked up from his laptop, an eyebrow raised. "Picking up Hange at this hour? Can't she go home on her own?"

Levi sat on the chair across his uncle as he hurriedly tied his shoelaces, setting his feet on the edge of the coffee table. "She can't. Stupid four eyes is drunk. That shithead." He mumbled, though the last statement was murmured more to himself.

Kenny let out a small snicker. "If I know any better, you _must_ be hiding something from me, you runt. You sound like a worried boyfriend."

"I am _not_ her boyfriend."

His uncle frowned and nodded. "Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night." The old man whispered as he went back to working.

Levi gave both shoes one last tug to make sure the knots wouldn't untie during the commute before standing up and heading for the door. He turned to look at his uncle before closing the door. "I have my keys with me, so you don't have to wait for me to get home."

The young lad missed the sly smirk on his uncle's face when he left. Kenny laughed lightly and shook his head. "Ah, teenagers."

* * *

"I'm really sorry, Levi."

Levi estimated that it would've been the sixteenth time Nanaba had said that since the phone call. When he arrived at the stupid karaoke bar where things got wild according to what he had gathered, Nanaba was outside waiting for him expectantly. She greeted him with an apology (the fifth time that night), which he responded with an assurance that he wasn't mad or anything. He really didn't even have any reason to get mad in the first place because Hange should've known better, and he wasn't Hange's parent or keeper. If anything, he was annoyed with stupid four eyes for allowing this to happen to herself. Levi felt a little guilty when he burst inside the cramped room they rented, swinging the door a little powerful than intended and shooting them a glare (well, Hange for the most part). He must've scared the crap out of them, and it didn't make the atmosphere any friendlier when he hauled Hange on his shoulder instead of carrying her bridal style or on his back. Hange kneed him squarely on his stomach as they exited the place, which nearly made him throw up his dinner. The young lad guessed there would be some bruising in the morning.

The cab had been awfully quiet save for the drunken Hange who was singing-shouting as she clung onto Nanaba at the backseat for dear life. Somehow, Levi elected himself to bring these tipsy girls home via cab just to make sure none of them would be delayed in going home. They had already dropped Lynne and Nifa home an hour ago. Right now, they were headed to Nanaba's place, with Hange's being the last destination. He'd worry about his wallet crying after this trip later.

"I'm—"

"I told you already, Nanaba; you don't have to apologize for Hange's stupidity. We can't do anything about it." Levi interrupted as he massaged his temples. A headache had been threatening to hit him just because Hange wouldn't shut up.

"Hey! What do you mean I'm stupid? Levi, you do know that I'm the valedictorian of our batch in grade school, remember? Remember? That means I'm not stupid!" Hange reacted, singing the last statement.

"Oh yes, you are." He mocked, imitating the girl's sing-song tone, but failing. He could feel his ears getting redder by the second so he shook his head to will the feeling of embarrassment away. "Anyway, would you just shut up, four eyes? Even the driver probably wants to stuff your mouth with something just to keep you quiet."

"Shhh, Hange. We're not in the karaoke place anymore, so you can stop singing now." Nanaba whispered as she nudged Hange gently with her hand on her friend's shoulder. "Levi's already pissed, if you can't tell."

Hange harrumphed and scowled. "What do I care if Mr. Grumpy Pants is pissed? He's always pissed! That's why nobody likes to be with him, except me, the very kind-hearted and warm Hange."

On a normal day, Hange giggling would be the secret death of Levi (what had become of him?), but clearly, this wasn't a normal day. She was drunk, he was disrupted from reading his favourite crime novel, and now his allowance for the weekend would be spent just because he needed to make sure that Hange got home in one piece and without causing any ruckus on the way. Levi would have to worry about receiving a talk from Kenny about spending money wisely later. Or perhaps Kenny would understand if he explained well enough.

The young lad rolled his eyes. "Oluo wants to be with me, too, so you're not the only one who wants to be my friend."

"But I thought you find him annoying? Do you find me annoying, huh, Levi? Huh?" Hange tugged at his jacket repeatedly that he had to remind himself not to punch her squarely in the face and crush her glasses. He sighed in frustration.

"Right now, I do, and I'll really be mad at you if you don't. _Fucking._ Shut. Up."

Thirty minutes after dropping Nanaba home, Levi was now seated at the back of the cab with Hange, and they were now on their way to the Zoe residence. He had called up Mrs. Zoe a few minutes ago informing her that they were now on their way home and about her daughter's current state. He imagined Mrs. Zoe must've been horrified after the phone call. He didn't want to think of what could possibly happen when Hange sobered up the following day.

Speaking of Hange, the girl had finally shut up. She wasn't being clingy now compared earlier, much to his relief. Instead, she scooted at the corner of the backseat, as far as she could from Levi, and didn't speak up for the remainder of the trip. That was good; he wasn't in the speaking mood either.

* * *

"Oh my goodness, Hange, look at you!" Mrs. Zoe exclaimed when she saw her daughter slumped on Levi's back. "What did you get yourself into?"

Levi adjusted his hold on Hange's legs, careful not to let her fall off the ground and cause more worries. "I'll bring her to her room, Mrs. Zoe."

Hange's mom opened the door widely to let them in as Hange's little brother (now 10) watched at the odd sight of the short Levi carrying his taller sister without much struggle. He could hear Mrs. Zoe's shuffling in the kitchen in a frantic haze and could feel Ezra's eyes boring behind them as he climbed upstairs to Hange's bedroom.

He didn't say anything as he set her down. He released her legs and waited for her as she groggily righted herself beside her bed before turning round to look at her. Hange's eyes drooped and her glasses were askew. Her hair and clothes were a mess—hell, she was a bloody mess right now inside and outside. Levi looked closely and could see tear stains dried on her cheeks, probably from crying earlier as Nanaba told him. She groaned as she climbed on her bed and adjusted the sheets to accommodate her.

Levi didn't leave immediately. He helped Mrs. Zoe attend to the drink-addled girl, as the mother made her daughter puke to lessen the feeling of drunkenness. Levi covered his nose with his jacket as he filled up a basin with cold water to use for cleaning Hange's face and cooling off her body. And Ezra? He just watched the whole ordeal from the door, looking a little terrified. Levi couldn't blame the kid; the way Hange was gagging and vomiting also left him a little terrified himself. And utterly grossed out.

When Hange had emptied the contents of her belly and complained about the soreness of her throat, Mrs. Zoe deemed it done and started cleaning her up. She asked Levi to clean up the mess her daughter made, if it wasn't too much, she said. Even if the scent of puke made him want to puke as well, how could he say no? So he obeyed, like the obedient kid that he was most of the time, and went to Hange's bathroom to flush the contents of the other basin in the toilet bowl.

He felt a tug on the hem of his jacket. Levi looked from underneath his arm and saw little Ezra standing behind him, the same burning curiosity on his sister's eyes reflected on his own.

"Yes, Ezra?"

Ezra frowned. "What happened to Hange? Is she sick?"

" _Yeah, sick in the head,_ " was what he wanted to say. "Oh. She was just being her silly self. Only ten times sillier now. You know how your sister is, right?"

The young boy nodded as he looked alternately from him and his sister who was now being tucked in by Mrs. Zoe. Levi cleared his throat to get the boy's attention again.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine in the morning." He assured him, but not without murmuring, "I hope," to himself.

Mrs. Zoe approached them and stopped by the door of Hange's bathroom. "When you're done cleaning that, I'll bring you home," she told him before kneeling down to meet her son's eyes and smiling slightly. "Look after your sister while I'm gone, okay? Make sure to lock the doors when I leave, okay?"

"Oh no, Mrs. Zoe, I'll be fine. I already told Kenny I'd be home late." He quickly said before Ezra could even agree or disagree with her mom's idea. "The neighbourhood is a safe place even at night."

The woman let out a sigh. "Okay then. I'll fix something for you downstairs—just some light midnight snack—before you leave. Text me as soon as you get home."

The young lad nodded and proceeded with the task at hand.

* * *

It took him about five minutes to scrub the basin clean and smelling like soap again. Hange had probably fallen asleep during that time, though he could hear her mumbling something incoherent as she tossed and turned on her bed, generating creaking sounds from outside the bathroom. He wiped the sink clean and dry with one of the rags hanging on the rack before turning off the lights and closing the bathroom door behind him.

"Levi, are you still there?"

The young lad merely hummed in confirmation.

Hange turned round to face him. Without her glasses and without her hair tied up, she looked quite different. Not in a bad way, but just... different. Levi saw her pouting like some kid asking for attention. He raised an eyebrow and waited for her to say anything.

"Am I really annoying?"

"What the _hell_ , Hange? Are you still drunk after vomiting half of your soul?"

She sat up sleepily as she laughed lightly. "Tipsy at most. Puking out my dinner helped me feel a little better, and I'm pretty sure my soul's still with me considering I'm alive and talking to you _right now_." The young girl prompted him to sit on her bed, patting the empty space beside her. Levi, for some reason, followed and sat near the edge of the bed.

He prepared himself for an onslaught of explanations about how one thing led to another, and probably another side to the story that Nanaba had supplied to him already, but he certainly did not expect to have her arms around him. She scooted closer to Levi and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder. Her hair tickled the side of his face, and though it had always been tied up messily, it didn't give justice to how her hair reminded him coconuts that moment./

"I'm sorry for annoying you, Levi. You've been such a great friend, and this is what I give you."

Levi learned that a tipsy Hange was a sentimental Hange.

She hugged him tighter and the smell of coconuts once again danced in his nostrils with the scent a little stronger this time. Levi, at best, was flabbergasted at the sudden contact. All he could do, aside from stiffening at Hange's touch, was to swallow the lump in his throat.

"And thank you for going through much trouble and bringing me home."

As soon as Levi reached their house and his bedroom, he felt a strong need for a cold shower that night.


	6. Sixteen (Part 2) - Competition

**Chapter Six: Sixteen (Part 2) – Competition**

"Hey, four-eyes," he called out the second time as he looked at Hange, who was currently staring outside the window of their classroom, mouth slightly agape and her food had fallen off her spoon already and back to her lunchbox. He could hear Nanaba hiding her snicker in the background.

"You haven't touched your food." Levi stated in an attempt to get her attention. But the girl wouldn't budge, so he resorted to physical measures and chose to kick Hange on the shin. As they say in the world of Pokemon, it was _super effective_.

Hange shot him a glare. "Hey, what was that for?" she grumbled as she reached for her shin, rubbing it. "And I have certainly touched my food, _mom_."

Levi decided to ignore the insult at the end. "Why the hell are you staring outside anyway?" He adjusted his chair a bit closer to the window and started searching for anything of interest. Nanaba stood up from her seat, too, carrying her lunch box, and searched around as well. That was when he saw it.

The young lad's eyes narrowed. Erwin _Mr. Fucking Popular_ Smith. His name was enough to make Levi seethe.

Nanaba nearly choked on her lunch. "Okay, now I understand." She said, chuckling as she walked back to her chair. "Gee, Hange, your feelings are showing." She teased, nudging the blushing girl across Levi.

What the flipping hell was she blushing _so hard_ for? If any of the two girls noticed him murdering his lunch with his fork, no one said a thing. Of course nobody would say a thing; they were busy teasing.

Hange swatted Nanaba's arm away from her, still red all over her face. "Stop it, Nanaba! You're _not_ helping."

The other girl rolled her eyes. "You don't have to deny anything, Hange. Every time he speaks in front of the student body, your eyes go really big and you can't keep your mouth close from awe." Nanaba laughed.

Levi only rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Levi knew his eyes weren't lying the first time he noticed Hange's growing crush on their senior. The student council officers went from room to room in order to inform the whole student body about some fundraising project Levi forgot what exactly. It was in the middle of Math class when they came in. Hange was busy working with him and Oluo about polynomials, so she was seated with them at the front.

That was when he saw it: that silly awestruck look on Hange's face when her eyes found the student body president. Levi swore her eyes were shining like polished gems as Erwin talked, which was why he forgot what the president was yapping about in the first place; he was preoccupied watching Hange watching Erwin. The grip on his pencil tightened.

The group said their thanks and greetings before they left. However, the dreaminess present on Hange's stupid face _never_ left. The girl's obviously smitten, and Levi oddly feels threatened.

And as if to rub more salt in the wound, the young lass even confirmed it herself as they went home together after a long day of reviewing for the periodic exams.

Hange let out a giggle, which didn't escape Levi's ears. He knew something was up, and something inside told him he wouldn't like what's coming next one bit. The young lad frowned.

"What are you giggling for, four eyes?" He chose to ignore the way his stomach turned the moment he let the question out of his mouth.

The young girl swayed as she walked, a stupid grin painted on her silly face. Levi felt an urge to just punch anyone within his reach at the sight of a smitten Hange Zoe. If he could, he'd punch her, but that would be too troublesome. So Levi chose to pretend that he was interested despite the growing irritation bubbling inside his small body. Might as well get this over with, he told himself.

"You know, Levi, I think..." she paused and sighed (that awestruck sigh), "I think I _may_ like someone."

'And is that someone that Erwin Smith?' was what he thought of saying, but he settled for "And who is this unfortunate bastard?" instead.

She managed to punch Levi on the shoulder despite her state. Then there it was again, that annoying dreamy look decorating her features once more. The young boy scoffed. He prepared himself for the news.

Hange sighed dreamily. "Isn't Erwin such a great person?"

Now, he wanted to punch someone. Or maybe a wall. Whichever got into his way first. Really.

* * *

Like a hawk stalking its prey, Levi tried not to be so apparent as he sized up his self-proclaimed rival (he couldn't believe himself that he actually considered Erwin to be that). Levi never really knew that he was capable of feeling possessiveness, and towards a crazy girl at that. As much as he was thankful that the whole world was daft when it came to his silly feelings towards Hange, sometimes he just wanted to be so open about it so that anybody who even dared to steal her attention away would back the fuck off. But Levi Ackerman was too cool for that.

All he was willing to let others see was that he was very, _very_ annoyed.

"Gee, Levi, you're worse than myself on my period." Hange once commented when he unintentionally snapped at her when she asked if he could wait for her to finish her Science club training so that they could still work on their homework together after school. He only shrugged off that comment.

Kenny always had a field day watching him go through a seemingly endless cycle of jealousy every time Hange talked about what Erwin did in club, what Erwin said in club, and what Erwin was like in club. Each time his uncle allowed himself to let a snicker escape his lips in amusement, Levi would respond with a glare so sharp it could puncture a hole straight through his uncle—metaphorically speaking, of course.

Stupid Erwin Smith and his stupid eyebrows. The young lad nearly doubled over in laughter at that thought. An evil idea came into his head; from now on, he would secretly refer to Mr. Popular as eyebrows, and not even his battalion of fans, Hange included, would keep him from doing so.

It wasn't like they could read his mind anyway. The young lad smirked at that thought.

Now, that he thought hard about it, didn't his fans notice how his eyebrows get in the way? Goodness gracious, Levi was now having a field day poking fun at the student council president.

From an objective point of view, though, Levi completely understood what was it about Erwin that made Hange liked him. He was charismatic, of course, which was a trait that leaders should possess in order to get people into following them, and he was smart. He was probably the only one who could completely appreciate Hange's ideas, from the really practical ones down to the amazingly insane ones (Levi didn't mind hearing them out, though). He was going to list down handsome and tall, but that would mean he was already conceding from this one-way fight. Besides, what Levi lacked in height (much to his chagrin), he made up with his cool demeanour.

Levi shuddered internally. _He almost sounded like Oluo there_.

* * *

Hange didn't tell him that she also signed him up for the fundraising event spearheaded by the student council. It was a mini-bazaar outside campus where each class would sell any product they wanted as long as it followed the assignments that the council had for each year level. Since it wasn't a compulsory event, Levi didn't really bother remembering the details. That is, until Hange nonchalantly told him that he had to accompany her to the supermarket over the weekend to buy the ingredients for the cookies they were going to sell for the fundraiser.

"We're probably going to need you, Levi. You know, to keep the place sanitized." She teased.

So here he was, inside their class' booth, along with Nanaba and the others, manning their stall. Some of their classmates had gone around the venue to scout for prospect buyers in the hopes of raising enough money. Since he was here then, he might as well do a good job at what he did best—keeping the place clean.

Actually, the event wasn't that bad. Their shift ended a few minutes ago so Hange and Levi decided to walk around and see what the other students were selling. That way, they also got to eat their lunch in case something caught their eyes. Their fellow freshmen sold a variety of food products ranging from desserts to entrees, much to the delight of their hungry tummies. Both teenagers enjoyed the plate of mashed potatoes swimming in gravy that they shared as they took a break from walking to eat.

They were on their way back to their class' stall when Hange bumped into someone's back and pitifully fell on her behind. Levi was about to help her up, but the person she bumped into was quicker to act than he was despite having to turn to his heels to face Hange.

It was flipping Erwin Smith, dressed in the school's official student council shirt, roaming around to check how each stall was doing. Levi's fists clenched on autopilot, it was really ridiculous.

"Oh, it's you, Hange! I'm sorry about that." He said as he pulled her to his feet, Hange's hand enclosed on his. A wave of possessiveness began to engulf Levi again.

"Oh no, Erwin, it's okay. It was my fault for being absent-minded!" she quickly dismissed his oncoming apology with a wave of hand and a silly chuckle.

He didn't know what overcame him that moment, but he noticed a little too late that he was being reactive when he gripped Hange's free wrist and yanked her away from Erwin's hold. Hange nearly tumbled from the impact, but was prevented with him in the way. All the while, Erwin stood there, dumbfounded.

"Uh, we better go," Levi started, eyes wandering and intentionally not looking at the two, "our next shift starts in 10 minutes. We still have to prepare."

Hange and Erwin stared at him, but for different reasons. Hange had confusion written all over her face, and Erwin? That stupid boy looked on with amusement, as if he figured something out, as soon as he recovered from surprise. Levi frowned.

"Let's go four eyes," he said, tugging her hand as he started to walk briskly, "we need to clean that face of yours, too. It's been soiled."

Hange didn't have the mind to stop him and ask what the hell was happening, thank heavens. Instead, she let Levi drag him back to their booth. "Guess I'll see you later, then, Erwin. Nice bumping into you!"

Both teenagers didn't see the knowing smile Erwin wore as he watched the retreating pair blend in with the throng of people.

* * *

If anybody still doubted Erwin's intelligence, they'd be crazy. After all, aside from being a Science dork, this _great_ specimen of a man was part of the school's chess varsity. If that didn't amaze you one bit, then you truly have a few screws loose in your head. Either that, or you were probably Levi, still annoyed and very much _jealous_ that Hange was figuratively all over the student council president.

Rumour had it that he was among the best chess players in the team. His statistics boasted of three wins, and one stalemate in the first five games he had participated so far. Now, Levi was also smart in his own way, but chess was certainly something he knew wasn't his forte. For one, he didn't play the sport, and two, he actually had little idea how the game was played.

But he was secretly delighted when he found out an old chess set lying around their house's attic one sunny Saturday morning when he decided to take on the challenge of disinfecting the unused room.

"Oh, that's a gift from gramps from way before," his uncle supplied over lunch when he inquired about it. "I thought I'd lost it, though."

"So you play chess, huh?" he mumbled after swallowing his food. "...Would you mind teaching me how?"

Kenny's eyebrow raised in curiosity, but decided not to press on with the reason why his nephew was interestingly eager to learn such a painfully long and nerve-wracking sport. He decided to just humour him. It had been a while since he played chess anyway.

He found that chess could be overwhelming, especially when you were put up against a scheming bastard. His uncle was supposed to show him how it was done properly, not crush his ego to smithereens. If he knew any better, his uncle was probably enjoying this.

He would deny that despite how much he struggled with the sport, he actually found it more interesting than he thought. Sometimes he'd even sneak in the library during lunch breaks just to secretly read books about chess and the different techniques that master players armed themselves with in every competition. Nobody really needed to know about his growing interest with chess.

That was until Hange caught him with his pants down at the corner of the school library, hunched and facing the wall as if he was doing something illegal. The young lass joined him in his corner, squatting and resting her arm on his shoulder as she looked over and reached for the book he was reading.

"Chess, huh?" she murmured, "I never pegged you to be into such thing." She confessed.

"Tch. What do you think I play then?"

"Oh, I don't know? Solitaire? Fit for someone like you, honestly."

The young boy introduced the dusty book to Hange's face.

After spending his afternoon at the Zoe residence for study sessions, Levi's evenings were spent trying to outwit his uncle in chess. He'd never gotten to the point of winning, but at least he was somehow getting the hang of it. It also didn't help each time Kenny would react whenever it was his turn; every sigh, snicker, and 'are you really sure?' from his uncle drove him off the wall. He hoped his uncle wouldn't notice him sweating each time.

Levi had to hand it to Erwin this time. Chess was no walk in the park. Okay, then; eyebrows won this round.

* * *

"Is Erwin here?"

Said student looked up from arranging his stuff and met Levi's eyes. He smiled. "Oh, Levi was it? You're Hange's friend, right?"

The young boy nodded. He slid the door close behind him and sat across Erwin. It seemed like the chess varsity had just finished their session for the afternoon.

"What brings you here anyway?" the older boy asked as he zipped his bag close and faced his junior. Levi disliked him even more the way he towered over him. Screw his short height.

Levi placed both his hands on the table and leveled his gaze with Erwin's. "Let's play chess."

His senior casted a puzzled look, but decided to go along with his request anyway. Erwin took his seat again, retrieved the nearby chess set placed on the table, and arranged the chess pieces before them. Levi waited until all the preparations were made.

"I guess you'll be playing the black pieces since you're already seated there." Erwin looked at him, waiting for his reply. Levi only shrugged his shoulders.

Needless to say, Levi lost all three rounds of chess. The first time resulted to Erwin eliminating his queen during the early parts of the game, which crippled Levi so much. He did manage to replace the queen, but Erwin and his evil mind thought it was a good idea to eliminate it before he could even maximize it. He asked for another round, and like the first round, he lost. This time he was so engrossed in putting Erwin on a disadvantage that he forgot about shielding his king. The third round was even worse; the older boy managed to end the game with only three moves.

Erwin had some errands to do so they had no choice but to put the next round on hold, much to Levi's disappointment. Eyebrows did invite him to drop by the chess varsity's room in case he wanted to join the team.

The young boy had no idea how much he was bubbling with annoyance until he was alone in his classroom, feeling extremely pissed after his encounter with Erwin. In fact, he was so pissed that he kicked his desk and punched the wall twice near his seat. When the adrenaline had left his body and common sense started to overtake him, the pain he inflicted himself with shot on his left foot and right fist.

Levi couldn't believe what he just allowed to happen.

He missed the sound of the classroom door sliding open and the familiar footfalls that followed after. The footsteps stopped just behind him and he saw a shadow looming over him.

"Levi, what's going on?" It was Hange, concern etched on her features as he searched his eyes for any clue. "What happened?"

He didn't respond instantly. The young boy found his knuckles a little red as blood clotted from the impact, and he felt his foot throbbing from the collision of his skin, bone, and the steel leg of his table. The young girl grabbed his injured hand gently and lifted it to inspect how bad it was. She let it go slowly, ensuring it wouldn't hurt more than it did already.

"Hey, let's go to the clinic. The nurse might still be there." She nudged him to move towards the door, and when Levi only stood there, evening his breath and calming his stormy mood, he felt the young lass pushing him to the direction of the door.

* * *

"Maybe if Hange found you a little later, you would've injured yourself even more." The school nurse said as she finished wrapping his right fist with gauze.

Hange let out an awkward laugh. "Yeah, good thing I was there. Thank you so much for attending to us!" She said, bowing as the nurse took her leave. The school nurse smiled at her gesture and left the two teenagers on their own, bringing with her the first aid kit.

The young girl sat beside Levi on the clinic bed, her weight caused the foam to drop and the frame of the bed to squeak a little. The young boy was finally calm and back to his collected self again. He let out the breath he'd been holding in the whole time they were in the clinic. The young boy felt dejected at the moment.

"Are you going to tell me now, what exactly happened back there, huh, Levi?"

The boy looked up from staring at the tiles and saw the small smile on Hange's face, which contrasted the sternness in her tone. Frankly, he really didn't want to talk about him since he felt it was downright embarrassing to admit that he had been dealing with the whole jealousy issue in a very juvenile manner. But here sat Hange, waiting for a response. The way her eyes glinted told him that they weren't going to leave the place until he sputtered something out.

Dignity be damned, he guessed, as Levi sighed dejectedly and slumped on the bed.

"Out of whim, I decided to challenge Erwin to a game of chess." He began. Oh, he could tell this was going to be painful.

The young girl adjusted herself on the bed in favour of a more comfortable sitting position, indicating that she was all ears with whatever he was going to say. When she nodded once, he took it as a sign for him to continue his narration.

"I lost. All three matches." He added. He was feeling really pathetic right now, and Levi knew it wasn't because he lost all three rounds.

"Of course you would. He's part of the chess varsity." Hange scoffed. "So you hurt yourself in the process?"

Levi let out a humourless chuckle. "Kicked my desk and punched the wall twice."

She sighed. "Because you lost? That's it?"

He shook his head. "I was angry."

Hange grabbed the pillow from behind him and placed it on her legs to let her elbows rest on the soft and fluffy object. "With Erwin?"

He turned his head and met Hange's eyes head on. "No. I was angry with myself."

The girl smiled in amusement. "And because you're angry with yourself you had to hurt yourself, huh? Am I right, Levi?"

He only scowled at her bogus conclusion. "I just needed to release it or God knows what I'd end up doing if I didn't do it."

She snorted. "Sure, Frowns-a-Lot." Levi glared at her for not being convinced. "Anyway, how are you feeling now? Does it hurt anywhere else?"

He shook his head. "My hand and foot will be fine by tomorrow. I hope."

When he saw the mirth in her wide eyes, Levi anticipated something unexpected (ironically) and silly from the girl. "You know when I was younger, my mom does something each time I get injured. Maybe that'll help!"

He was about to ask what the flipping hell that was when Hange grabbed his injured fist and caressed the sensitive knuckle gently, before planting a fleeting kiss on the gauze covering the wounded area. His ears instantly flared up at the contact as his chest felt like exploding to a shit ton of pieces out of shock.

"The bloody hell was that for, four-eyes?! We're not in kindergarten!"

"Kisses will make it feel better, or so my mom always said, though there aren't really scientific studies to support such claim." She casually stated like kissing the hand of your friend was a very platonic thing all friends do. "Suck it up, Levi."

If Levi thought he was already screwed even before, this time he was royally screwed. Well... _fuck_.


	7. Sixteen (Part 3) - Messy

Yay, an update! :D Since I've written down almost half of the story already, I might update quicker before the holidays arrive because I won't be home post-Christmas until New Year's Eve (like anybody cares ohohoho). Just to keep this story from being on hold even for a short while. And as always, thank you for following and reading this story! Thank you for adding this to your favourites list, and for leaving reviews! It means a lot. :D I hope that everyone who reads this would continue to enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it. :D

Anyway, I've been writing the story more on Levi's perspective, so I'm shifting to Hange's this time. We're all aware of how Levi feels about her, but what about Hange? How does she feel about our favourite grumpy person?

* * *

 **Chapter Seven: Sixteen (Part Three) – Messy**

After the last girls' bonding activity, the group made sure to stay away from alcohol, karaoke bars and a drunken Hange, so they decided to have a sleepover at Lynne's place this time. At least, if there were any trouble that might ensue, nobody wouldn't need to be picked up by anyone—cough-Hange-cough—and nobody else had to be bothered in the middle of the night—cough-Levi-cough.

Hange didn't really expect she'd be joining sleepovers, let alone be allowed to partake in one. Her parents had been a little apprehensive about her after school and weekend excursions (but not when she was with Levi) ever since Levi brought her home drunk that one night. She had to convince her parents that she wouldn't be drunk again, and that her friends wouldn't think of hiding some stash of alcohol at Lynne's house. To ease her parents' doubts, Hange gave the number of Lynne's house, and address, too, so that they could check on her if they wanted to. They had called her up once just to ask if they were already there, and then her phone remained silent for the rest of the night.

The night was still young, or so Nanaba said. Hange looked at the clock on Lynne's desk and saw that it was already thirty minutes past nine. Usually she'd be asleep now, but nobody really slept during sleepovers, of course. This was her first time, but even she knew that much.

What she didn't know though was, aside from painting their nails with pretty colours and pretty designs (Nifa did a good job with her toes, by the way), sleepovers were usually where people gather dirt from other people aka _gossiping_. Weren't sleepovers created for that sole purpose?

Oh boy, Hange Zoe didn't really know what exactly she had gotten herself into. She was about to find out soon, though.

"You know," Lynne began as she waited for her nails to dry, "I thought transferring to a co-ed school would be quite an experience instead of staying in an exclusive school like my parents wanted me to."

Nifa's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

The other girl sighed. "Don't judge me, but don't you find it disappointing that we hardly have good-looking boys in our batch? Come on, girls, I'm _sure_ you all agree with me."

Nanaba scoffed. "Of course there aren't any... yet." She was braiding Hange's hair. "But our seniors don't look bad at all," she paused, smirking playfully, "and I'm sure we have someone in this room who would _totally_ agree with me."

Hange's cheeks turned pink at Nanaba's implication, and turned a shade darker when Lynne and Nifa joined in the teasing.

"My gosh, Hange, I wouldn't be surprised if Erwin knows you have a crush on him with the way you look so in awe of him!"

"He's also part of the Science club, right? So it means you two get to bond _somehow_."

The young lady covered her face with her hands and pouted. "Oh come on! I can't be _that_ obvious. I'm doing my best not to give my secret away!"

Lynne snorted and rolled her eyes. "If by trying your best means flashing that dopey grin of yours every time he greets you when he sees you, then you gotta try harder!"

Okay, she couldn't help it. When Hange was fascinated at something, or in this case someone, she wasn't really the type who would stop herself from expressing said fascination, and Erwin Smith was no exception. He was truly a fascinating person. Just thinking about him made the young lass blush like a school girl... which she was, by the way.

Nifa's eyes lit up at a thought. "Say, Hange. What if Erwin secretly likes you, too?"

All three girls disapproved the thought.

"What? Anything can happen!" Nifa reasoned before turning to Hange. "And Hange, shouldn't you be happy about the possibility?"

She frowned, even though she liked the idea and was still blushing. "I'm just being realistic here, Nifa. I mean, sure it sounds really nice—too nice, even—but what are the odds that a senior would find a freshman to his liking? Think about it."

Lynne paused and gave it some thought. "Yeah, if you think about it, isn't kind of... weird... if Erwin did like Hange when he's like 18 or something, and Hange's a minor?"

" _It's only two years, Lynne,_ " Nifa hissed and rolled her eyes. "And they're both in high school. Well, Erwin wouldn't be next year, but—oh, whatever."

"Uh, guys, I can hear you, in case you forgot." Hange quipped as her eyes darted from Nifa to Lynne alternately.

"Well, let's say if Erwin _did_ like Hange that way, I'm pretty sure nothing's gonna happen between them." Nanaba supplied, mirth dripping in her tone. She was finally done braiding Hange's hair.

The three girls all focused their attention on the now smirking Nanaba, as her eyes twinkled with mischief. Lynne raised an eyebrow at her, Nifa cocked her head to the side as her face reflected her puzzlement, and Hange? Hange only stared at her blankly, totally clueless about what the expression on Nanaba's face meant.

Said girl sighed in disbelief. "Oh come on, you mean you don't notice it, especially you, Hange?" When the girls all shook their heads and shared the same confused look on their faces, Nanaba slapped her forehead and shook her head. "Good heavens, do I have to spell it for you?"

The bespectacled girl narrowed her eyes. "I really don't get what you're saying, Nanaba."

"Well, then," Nanaba clicked her tongue before speaking. "Hange, just how much do you really know about Levi?"

Oh?

"Well, we've been friends since we were eight so I guess I can say I know much about him. He's obsessed with being clean about his body and his surroundings, his favourite colour is maroon, which is _so_... weird, he wakes up five minutes before his alarm sounds off, he secretly wished he was taller—but don't tell him I told you that, okay—he likes animals, and I could go on, but we'd reach the next day if I enumerated everything." She rambled as she counted with her fingers. "Why Nanaba? Do you like him by any chance?"

Nanaba's face scrunched at the suggestion. "No offense to Levi, but he's not my type," she replied. "I'm asking because I think Levi likes you. No, I can _tell_ Levi likes you."

The young girl dismissed the statement with a cackle. "Of course, he likes me; he has no choice. I'm his only friend!"

Nanaba groaned. "No, not in that way, oh my goodness. What I meant was Levi _likes_ you. Like how you like Erwin, okay?"

Eh?

Lynne suddenly righted herself on her bed and joined the conversation. "Now that you mention it, it's actually not far from happening! Also, if you think hard about it, the only girl— _hell,_ the only _person_ he ever talks to is you, Hange."

She shook her head in disbelief. "He talks to the girls in our class, too. He seems okay with Oluo, too."

Nanaba rolled her eyes, snickering. "Yeah, but you're the only person he ever _holds_ a conversation with."

"And the only one he _initiates_ a conversation with." Lynne supplied, nodding.

What?

Nifa seemed to be enjoying this kind of conversation, Hange learned, as a big smile was plastered on her cute face. "Oh, I sense something brewing!"

That was it; the bespectacled lady wouldn't be having any of this horsecrap, thank you very much. "Okay, stop that. That's not even funny. That's not true. We're just friends, okay?"

"Maybe for you, but what about for Levi?" Lynne interrogated, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"Tch, how would someone like him like me?" Hange retorted, scoffing. "He always called me using stupid nicknames like four eyes or shitty glasses or weirdo. He even told me once that he secretly referred to me as damsel of the dung because he felt like I was too dirty."

"Oh, he even has pet names for you!" Nifa chuckled.

Hange's eyes widened in disbelief. "Pet names?! They're supposed to be insulting!"

"But you don't seem to mind it when he calls you names."

"Well, I don't. It's just his own way of expressing his fondness, that's all."

It was Nanaba who chose to rebut this time. "So you're technically acknowledging that he does have pet names for you?"

Hange was dumbfounded. "... Well, whatever. Why am I even explaining things?"

"Do you even notice the way he looks at you when you're talking? You of all people should know how to read him better."

"I _know_ him just _fine_." Hange muttered. This was starting to get her riled up for some reason.

Nanaba huffed. "Not as much as you think, though. I'm telling you, Levi _likes_ you. _A lot_."

* * *

Hange knew very well the extent of her mental capabilities or to simply state it, she knew very well that she was a smart kid, which meant she knew very well why she was trying to run as fast as she could from the probably irritated Levi even though there wasn't a legitimate reason to do so. She wasn't running away from Levi; she was running away from herself.

For the first time since she was three, Hange Zoe was scared.

A few hours earlier, the pair had settled themselves on separate mats, with a bag of snacks between them, as they waited for the night sky to be glittered with stars. It was Hange's impulsive decision to watch the stars at one of their secret places, the one overlooking the whole neighbourhood, and she managed to drag Levi along (literally). She did promise him a week's worth of lunch, and that they'd be home by eleven so that the young lad could be happy and sleep on his precious bed like he wanted to so he didn't really have to be sour.

The teenagers killed time by talking about anything Hange thought of—the stars, the future of humanity, even the latest memes she just found out a day ago thanks to her group of girl friends. It was a pretty mundane exchange of thoughts, actually. Which then led into something she guessed they weren't expecting to occur; it just did. Hange never really gave much thought to how they'd gotten so comfortable with each other through time until she suddenly became aware of the compromising predicament they found themselves in.

She couldn't recall how it turned out that way: her being pinned by a pint-sized Levi on his mat like _how cliché and shoujo manga could it get_? And for the record, Hange had only read one _shoujo manga_ in her life so far, and arrived to the conclusion that it wasn't for her so _shounen all the way,_ but that wasn't the point. All she could remember was someone challenged the other, which led to them trying to outdo each other over something, which resulted to an impromptu wrestling match with Hange initiating, which then evolved to one huge tickle fest to see where Levi's ticklish points were, and finally arriving to this.

Hange was chuckling like mad as Levi showered her with those empty threats again about disembowelment and such all the while keeping her from landing anymore tickles his way. She had gotten out of breath from all the laughing, kicking, and trying to pry mister pissy pants off him so she stopped, a long exhale escaping her lips. She looked up to see Levi, in all his scowling glory, eyes boring onto hers.

It was the first time Hange had ever stopped and studied Levi's eyes. With the light of the moon obstructed, she really couldn't tell what the exact colour was, except that it was probably as dark as his hair or something. Maybe it was the lack of light or maybe she had hit her head really hard when the boy rolled her over on the ground to be at an advantage, but looking at Levi at the moment felt like seeing him for the first time. It was odd, Hange thought, since they had been friends for a long time now, and had seen each other change and grow, and yet this felt as if her eyes had been covered by scales she never knew were there until Levi was on top of him—not really sitting, more like hovering—staring at her intently, hair almost obstructing his face and hand gripping her wrist like she was going to push him off any minute now.

Which by the way, wasn't running in her thoughts right now.

Instead, she let her free hand reach out to touch his face, the tips of her fingers lightly feeling his clean and smooth skin (for a boy, that is). She felt him tense at her touch, which should've set off an alarm already, but when her fingers found how soft Levi's hair was like (good heavens how was this boy even real?), she couldn't keep her hand away from his head.

She was obviously in some haze the way she hadn't released herself from their current position, which should've been another alarming thought.

But what really woke Hange up (and probably Levi, too, since the grip on her wrist loosened and she felt his other arm adjust as he was being lowered) was the feather light kiss she planted on his lips the moment she felt the tips of their noses touch as her hand led him closer. Her eyes widened in shock as the gravity of the situation came crashing down on her like an avalanche dragging huge boulders in its wake. In a hurry, she pushed Levi off her, surprised by how she did it so easily, and stood up as soon as she untangled herself from him. Her strides were wider, brisker, as she made her way through the path they took on the way here.

What had happened? What in heaven's name just happened?

She was snapped from her daze when she heard heavy footsteps from behind her. Levi was getting closer, and she just couldn't let him find her. Not now that her head was a complete jumbled mess and her heart threatening to burst out of her chest out of sheer anxiety. That was when Hange began to sprint, swatting away stray branches that blocked her way.

"Hange!" she heard him call out. "Hange!" he called out again, but she wasn't going to stop.

"Goddamit, Hange Zoe! Stop!"

The venom laced in Levi's voice should've scared her into following, but this only made her dash madly, stepping on twigs, crunchy leaves, and maybe some bugs on the way out of the place. Her legs were obviously longer than Levi's so outrunning him wouldn't be problem, right?

Hange knew very well the extent of her mental capabilities or simply stated, she knew very well that she was a smart kid, which meant she knew very well why she was trying to run as fast as she could from the probably irritated Levi even though there wasn't a legitimate reason to do so. She wasn't running away from Levi; she was running away from herself.

For the first time since she was three, Hange Zoe was scared.

* * *

Of all the places she wound up to, Hange's feet had to bring her to Levi's street. Wasn't she running as far as she could from her feelings? This wasn't going to help _obviously_ , but she was here anyway, and though she made her mad dash away from where they came from, it didn't seem like she had gotten Levi lost. In fact, as her running slowed to just walking, she could hear his footfalls getting closer, but he wasn't calling her name anymore. She could feel her legs wobbling from all the running so she let herself collapse on the nearest lawn she stumbled upon, literally.

Hange didn't bother righting herself up as she unceremoniously laid on the freshly-mowed grass of the Ackermans. Her body was tired from all the running, and she could feel the veins in her legs twitching. She tried to catch her breath and calm her senses, closing her eyes and sighing when her breath wasn't ragged anymore.

She didn't need to open her eyes to know another presence almost hovering above her. She could hear Levi's laboured breathing, though not as lame as hers earlier, and he could feel the boy a few inches away from her.

So this was it then, huh? When she hadn't even gathered her thoughts and sorted out her feelings. The young lady allowed herself to smirk at the sheer oddness of this all.

"You didn't have to run like I have an incurable disease or something you know." Levi was the first to get his bearings after the on-the-spot race to his place. "And for someone so set on getting away from me, you sure chose a stupid place to rest."

She finally opened her eyes and glanced at Levi. "I'm sorry, Levi. And for the record, I wasn't running away from you." She exhaled. "And I was actually surprised myself when I ended up in your street of all places. And on your lawn, too."

Hange sat up, crossing her legs in front of her and slouched. She looked at her friend and quickly shifted her eyes to the grass. "I'm really sorry back there."

"What the hell was that for anyway? What came over you?"

The young lady understood where that vexation's coming from. She just flipping stole a kiss, on his lips no less. Probably his first considering his interest with socializing with anyone, and it made her feel even more horrible about herself. And sure, this wasn't the first time she kissed him (she'd already kissed his damn hand okay), and it wasn't anything sloppy and invading, too, but it didn't erase the fact that she kissed him out of... A girl as smart as herself couldn't even figure out the intentions behind that unwelcome gesture.

"This sounds pretty lame, but I really don't know what spell I was in when I did that. Just that... God, Levi, I'm sorry." She repeated, burying her face in her hands. This wasn't the first time she'd done something so embarrassing, but this was the first time she felt like wishing for the heavens to open and take her away via ascension.

She heard some shuffling and Levi grunting as his body made contact with the ground. Hange still didn't want to meet his eyes and talk about her feelings. Not when she couldn't even spell it out herself.

"I... Wait, don't you like Erwin?"

Hange lifted her head from her hands and narrowed her eyes. "Why are you bringing it up and of all times, too?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "You know what you did."

She scowled. "Geez, Levi, you sound like I got you pregnant or something."

"You kissed me, Hange, in case you forgot from all that running."

She groaned in exasperation.

Levi glowered. " _It was my first kiss."_

" _I know,"_ she muttered in between gritted teeth, "and believe me, I feel bad already, okay? And if it makes you feel better it... was... also my... first... kiss." Her words trailed.

Hange was suddenly engulfed by bashfulness, something she didn't know she was capable of. She didn't have to look at a mirror to know she was blushing madly. She just hoped the streetlights were dim enough to hide the pink staining her cheeks.

A tensed kind of silence ensued and ate them whole. Hange swore she could feel the weight of it on her shoulders. She had to do something or she'd be crush dead by the end of this night.

"Levi?"

"Hm?"

She fumbled with the hem of her sweater. "...Are you still mad at me?"

The young lad let out a snort. "Mad at you? Who said I was mad?" he paused. "Pissed, yes."

The corner of Hange's lips tugged south. "I'm sorry."

"...You left me confused, Hange."

"I beg your pardon?"

Levi groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You really don't get it, do you?"

The young girl cocked her head to the side, naivete screaming all over her. "Get what?"

Nobody spoke for a whole minute. Levi only looked at her blankly. "Tch, let's go inside. I'll call your dad and tell him to pick you up here. I'll come back for the mats tomorrow morning." He slowly lifted himself up from the grass and offered his hand to Hange.

She let Levi pull her up to her feet swiftly. Hange still found it amazing how a boy as big (or short) as he was could easily lift up someone her size. They both dusted themselves off, with Hange making a hundred percent sure that she wouldn't be bringing any stray grass inside the immaculate, sacred abode of her friend or he'd pound her with a dustpan or something, and she didn't want that (even though she felt she deserved that for an entirely different reason).

Hange felt Levi's hand reaching to smoothen her bangs and tuck away some of her stray hair behind her ear. His hand didn't leave her face yet; it settled on her right cheek, his thumb gently stroking her cheekbone as he looked at her. Hange wasn't sure if her glasses needed some upgrading or the lack of sufficient lighting were tricking her, but there was something like longing reflected on his eyes with him being this close to her.

"You are so _stupid_ ," he stated, punctuating the last word with much emphasis, though Hange could tell that he wasn't insulting her or questioning her intelligence in any way.

Neither of them talked about what transpired that night.


	8. Sixteen (Part 4) - Mend

I'm really so sorry for the unplanned hiatus. Ya see, I couldn't upload new chapters for some reason, so having a temporary laptop for now enabled me to install Chrome to make uploading fairly easier for me. Now, I can really update religiously (since I've written the next chapters already). Anyway, thanks for the reviews and for reading this story. Here's the overdue update! :D

* * *

 **Chapter Eight: Sixteen (Part Four) – Mend**

To be completely honest, Hange never really thought girl problems were an actual thing (save for periods and pre-menstrual syndrome) until she was slapped in the face, hard. In fairness to Levi, he was being a sport with this whole ordeal; still the one friend willing to be disturbed by the young lady despite the thick air of awkwardness that seemed to follow them around each time they were together.

Hange wouldn't say she was devoid of emotion; if anything, she got attached to people and things easily (to the point of crying if she needed to let go of something she'd been experimenting on). However, Hange never really _busied_ herself with emotions. She never thought hard about liking someone or hating someone—just that she liked or hated them. It also applied to people liking ot hating her—just that they happened to find her okay or repulsive. So when this complex web of feelings weaved itself sneakily in her head, Hange didn't know what to do. She scoffed at that; it was pretty sucky that someone smart as her couldn't solve her own problem.

Hange wasn't all geeky and nerdy like people pegged her to be; she knew attractive when she saw one, though her definition of the word differed from how it was normally perceived. Hange had her standards, too. She liked smart, passionate people who shine brightly whenever they share about stuff that they madly, deeply, and truly liked. She liked Erwin; he was smart, charming, and responsible. He was also pretty humble, too, and not in the false kind of modesty that most people were accustomed to; he was open to hearing out what people think as if he acknowledged the fact that he couldn't be right all the time. Hange thought it was just a bonus that Erwin was blessed with a face she wouldn't mind staring at every now and then.

He was kind to her, too. He listened eagerly to what she had to say when others would dismiss her as noisy and neurotic. He humoured her so much, it wasn't hard for Hange to like the guy. She was even thrilled when she was paired with him for the contest that their school planned on joining. That meant she wouldn't have a tough time convincing her partner of her theories!

Hange was pretty convinced that she liked Erwin until she went on a failed stargazing trip with Levi a few nights ago. Maybe it was the moon, the mood, the boy, herself, or all four factors that led from one thing to another. She wondered if Levi could still feel the ghost of her lips on his because sometimes, when she was alone or when her head visited the memory, her fingers would automatically find her lips. It was their first kiss. _Ever_. And she was the perpetrator. What she didn't understand was no matter how annoyed Levi must've been, he didn't do anything to stop her. Well, she was eternally thankful he didn't slug her or something, but if someone had done the same thing she did to her—kiss her without her yes—she might've gone on a torturing spree until her feelings of being taken advantage of subsided.

The young lass sighed for what seemed like the thirtieth time that afternoon.

"Hange, are you alright?" Erwin asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

She snapped from her deep thinking and focused on her partner. They should be working on studying the results of their experiment; she wasn't supposed to be distracted (by thoughts of Levi) at the moment.

"I'm sorry, Erwin. I was just thinking of something." She told him as she shifted her eyes to the specimen before them. "Oh look! Our little plant is growing!"

The boy smiled like he had a secret. "You've been sighing a lot, too, since we started on this experiment."

"I am?" she blurted out, then slightly chuckled. "Oh, I mean, yeah, I am. Yeah." He noticed that?

"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm all ears. Is something bothering you, Hange?"

She sighed (again) and closed her eyes. "Well, there is _someone_."

"Oh," Erwin whispered. "Would you mind if I take a guess of this _someone's_ identity?"

Hange snorted. "Oh come on, Erwin. Like you even know who my friends are."

"You're right about that," he agreed, "but there's that one friend who always seem to be around you like a moth to a lamp."

"Oh wow, how poetic of you," she kidded, rolling her eyes. "You mean Levi?"

Erwin nodded, smiling. "Are you two in good terms recently?"

She narrowed her eyes as she met his, searching for a clue how he was able to figure out it was about Levi. "What do you mean?" she asked in pretense.

"What do you mean, what do _I_ mean? Some people may not have noticed it, but I have in the few times I've bumped into both of you along the hallways."

"I don't really know what you're trying to say, Erwin. You're going to have to spell it out for me."

The boy sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Okay then. I'm not being creepy, but I noticed that you two haven't been beside each other as much as before, and I haven't seen him waiting for you after our meetings like always." Erwin proceeded to rest his elbows on the table and his chin at the back of his hands. "Something must've happened between the two of you. Am I right, Hange?"

Hange never knew that she could hate Erwin's knowing smile so much until today. The young girl pouted as she fiddled with the tiny leaves of their plant. She also told herself not to look at Erwin's eyes or her soul would depart from her body as he extracted any more information from her. And he remained seated in front of her, smiling and waiting for a response. She didn't speak for a whole minute so Erwin retrieved a sheet to record their observations for this session.

"I... uh, it's my fault." She blurted.

Erwin looked up from writing. "Pardon?"

"I did... something... that may or may not have affected the dynamics of our friendship."

The young girl hoped Erwin wouldn't press the matter. He didn't.

"Well, I hope you two settle whatever's going on between you two." He said.

Yup, she hoped so, too.

* * *

"Hange, dear, don't you and Levi have study sessions today?" Mrs. Zoe asked as she peered inside her daughter's room.

The girl lifted her head from her pillow to look at her mom. "We do, but he had some errands that he had to take care of so he'll be coming later than usual." Once she was done talking, Hange slumped on her bed once more and heaved a sigh.

Somehow, this alarmed her mom. "Hange, are you feeling fine?"

Hange heard the door to her room creak as her mom's footsteps neared her bed. She felt the older woman sit on the edge of her bed when the mattress dipped low from the weight. The young girl glanced at her mom and saw her inquiring look.

"I'm not sick, mom." She mumbled. "Just tired."

Mrs. Zoe raised an eyebrow at her daughter's stubbornness. "Okay, Hange Zoe; you can't trick your mother. I spawned you after all." She slapped her daughter's thigh once, and Hange yelped from the force. "Does this have anything to do with Levi?"

This caused Hange to sit straight on her bed, eyes wide and hair tousled from lying down. "What made you think that?"

Mrs. Zoe rolled her eyes and smirked. "Call it mother's intuition," she retorted. "And well, you're not as energetic as always; you didn't even slam the front door open like you usually do." The older woman adjusted herself on her daughter's bed as she scooted closer to the pouting girl. "What's the matter, sweetheart? You can tell me."

Hange pouted even more as she flashed her mom what she hoped was the cutest puppy eyes she could manage. "But you might hate me if I tell you everything, mom."

"You are so ridiculous sometimes, you know." Her mom murmured as she shook her head. "Well, I guess it depends on what you're going to tell me, but rest assured I won't disown you." She cackled, slapping Hange's back, which made the young girl cough.

"Mom!"

"I was kidding, okay? So, what happened?"

Hange shifted on her bed and fumbled the hem of her shirt. Her eyes looked anywhere but her mom's in fear of seeing whatever reaction she'd get after hearing her out.

"Mom, I kissed Levi. It's a _very innocent kiss_ , though, just so you know."

So she proceeded recounting their failed stargazing trip a week ago, all the while wondering why the ground hadn't swallowed her up yet. The encounter was truly her most embarrassing yet, and as long as it had to be brought up in her thoughts or in conversation, Hange arrived to the conclusion that she'd always be reduced to this big lump of bashfulness for the rest of her sorry life.

Mrs. Zoe sighed at the grand reveal of the afternoon. Hange searched her mom's face for any clue of what the older woman was thinking as she processed her story. The young girl sighed dejectedly and laid down once more, this time burying herself in the sheets, as she braced for what could happen once her mom's done musing.

"I can't believe you even have the guts to do that." She heard her mom mumble. "But Hange, you do know that there's no other way to clear things up with Levi but to talk about it, _right_?"

Hange peered through the blanket and nodded.

"You two better talk it out. Levi's your friend."

"Yes, mom."

* * *

The last time she had visited this place by herself was around eight years ago. Hange chuckled. For two years, this place happened to be one of her secret places around the neighbourhood, secluded deep in the street near Levi's. Ever since she met Levi at the playground (or to be more specific, ever since Levi caught her trying her best to cut open a dead bird's chest with the twig she managed to sharpen by stepping on it and breaking it until it was sharp enough), she had unknowingly let him invade anything she permitted him to, including her many secret places. She wasn't some loner or anything; Hange actually made friends easily because she was the kid who would talk to any person in sight. But Levi was a new face then, and a new face meant he didn't have any friends yet. The young girl arrived to the conclusion that he might be lonely just because he still didn't know anyone from the neighbourhood. So she did what she knew had to be done: make him her friend. She toured him around, shared some stories and urban legends surrounding their neighbourhood, and asked him about himself. Pretty soon they became really good friends, and it was a bonus that they both went to the same school together!

Her secret places became their secret places. It was a nice change, actually. At least when Levi entered the picture, she had someone to talk about what she just saw in her secret places. She didn't have to wait to go home and tell everything to her mom or dad, whoever's home, because sometimes she just couldn't contain her excitement. And Hange had to admit, with Levi around, the secret places felt less lonely and less scary whenever she forgot the time.

Hange thought Levi was a nice kid, and he was—just a little weird at times, but we all needed a certain level of weirdness in our lives to make everything spicier. Plus he was willing to put up with her own set of quirks, too, so all in all, their friendship was the best she'd ever had.

And then she just made things complex between them. Hange scoffed at the typicality of it all. So very high school, so very adolescent, so very cliché. He was a boy, she was a girl—nope, she wasn't even going to sing that in her head. But it was pretty obvious that feelings she didn't know were there surfaced after their failed stargazing trip at this very place.

She knew she liked Erwin. But what did she really think about Levi?

The young girl lied down on the grass (she didn't bother bringing a mat since she wasn't as prissy as Princess Levi was okay) as she enumerated her thoughts about her friend. Levi was pretty moody—almost artist moody—but he wasn't the type who projected it to people, which made those who didn't know him as much as she did think he was puzzling. Levi was also the most anal person she'd ever met; the guy could spend his entire life cleaning the whole world, organizing all the shelves in the entire galaxy, and arrange everything in order until his dying breath. Aside from that, he also made sure she ate enough during lunch time and slept enough at night (Hange always argued with him that she functioned better at night every time he would call her up before he slept to check if she was also preparing for bed). The girl didn't hold back her snickers when she concluded that Levi was such a parent. Imagine his kid growing up. But those quirks actually made Levi endearing to her eyes. The flat look he always wore contrasted the amount of care he actually gave.

Hange decided that Levi was pretty much how she initially thought he was—a nice kid. He just... didn't know how to express himself well, she presumed. That could be learned, so it'd all be fine.

Still, it didn't answer he question: what did she really think about Levi?

The crunching of a twig disrupted her musing. She lifted her head a bit and craned her neck to see who had the guts to disturb her thinking time and saw the boy himself, clad in an oversized sweater (he probably inherited from his uncle) and looking like some miserable hanger. The young girl berated herself for thinking of him in such manner.

"I went to your house because we agreed on meeting up, but you weren't there."

Hange sat up and dusted off her hair. "Good afternoon to you, too, Levi. How did you know I could be here?"

The boy approached her and stood in front of her, looking down to meet her eyes. "I searched for you in all the secret places. This was the last in the list."

She flashed him a smile. "Congratulations for finding me then, short stuff."

He sighed exasperatedly as he took a step beside her and plopped himself down. "Don't call me that, four eyes."

"'Kay then, I'll call you mister fun size instead."

"Hey, Hange, I don't think you've ever been personal with my boot. Want me to introduce it to you?"

She reached out for his head and ruffled his hair. "Nice try, Levi. You wouldn't want to ruin this face, no?"

He glanced at her quickly then looked away before muttering a 'tch.' "So why did you call me up then ditched me?"

Hange let out a long sigh as she scratched her nape in uneasiness. "Well, since you obviously want me to cut to the chase, then I'll tell you why." She paused to clear her throat. "We need to talk about the kiss, Levi."

When she stole a quick look at her friend, she saw him open his mouth and close it in hesitation until he was able to ask. "...What about it then?"

The young girl scooted in front of the young boy so that he could fix his eyes on her and pay attention to what she was going to say. "I'm really sorry about that, Levi. I'm sorry about stealing your first kiss. Really."

Levi's eyes refused to meet hers. "You already said sorry the same night, too. What's the point?"

She held him by the shoulders and tried to make their eyes lock as she moved her head wherever he moved his. "No, Levi, you don't understand. I'm saying sorry because you said that night that I left you confused. But about what, Levi? I want to know."

He still wouldn't look at her. "What do you want to know?"

This time her hands flew to his face. That way, Hange knew he wouldn't be turning his head away this time. "Oh, for _fuck_ 's sake, Levi, stop acting like a brat." She spat out. He only rolled his eyes, which annoyed her. "Whatever, you _little_ shit. Answer me! What did I do to confuse you?"

She could feel him trying to free his face from being squeezed by her hands, but Hange maintained it in place, her hold on his cheeks getting a little tighter. He was trying to say something but because his cheeks were squeezed and his mouth only allowed him little movement, Levi basically garbled whatever he was muttering.

Hange felt his hand gripping her wrists. Levi was now attempting to keep her from squeezing to hard. She didn't really put up a fight since he seemed like he was going to spill something now and the glare he just shot her was quite scary. His hands never left her wrists even when hers wasn't on his head anymore.

"Geez, Hange, how am I supposed to answer you when you're trying to rearrange my face or something. And who are you calling _little_ shit?... Little shit." He ranted. "Anyway, if you want to know it so bad, then fine, I'll only say it _once_ so you better _fucking_ listen to me, Hange Zoe."

His tone dripped with so much irritation that the young girl had no choice but to nod her head.

Levi's hands slid from her wrists to her hands and held on to it like his life depended on it. Hange wanted to complain that he was holding it a little too tight, but the ball was about to roll now. If she did anything that would keep Levi from being completely honest to her, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for the rest of the week.

"I... like you, Hange. A lot. But you don't like me do you? Of course, because you like Erwin Smith. So why did you just kiss me that night? I'm not Erwin. And somehow, you apologizing for it rubs me wrongly; is it because I'm not him? Is it because it sucks that your first flipping kiss had to be _me_? Am I _that_ bad? Did you regret it _so fucking much that you have to apologize for it_? Tell me, four-eyes; are you toying with me?"

That was probably the longest she'd ever heard Levi say anything. The boy was royally pissed. Screw that, _he was flaming mad_.

"I-I'm s—"

"Shut it, Hange! Stop saying sorry, okay? It's irritating. Sheesh!"

This shouldn't even be the time to think of this, but Hange just noticed that this was the first time they fought. She could feel tears stinging the corners of her eyes. Levi was yelling. Levi was angry. And now that she heard Levi's feelings and thoughts, it made her even feel more miserable than ever. Levi was her _best_ friend. There you go.

What had she done to her best friend?

He was shaking. And if her eyes weren't betraying her, he was also on the verge of crying. Poor kid probably didn't know how to deal with this kind of circumstance. Hange did what she thought was appropriate that time. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face on his shoulder. Somewhere between pulling him closer and resting her head on the nearest body part, Hange felt her tears finally fall. The young girl allowed herself to cry.

"I'm really so sorry, Levi! I feel worse than ever!" She said in between sobs.

She continued her string of muffled apologies, not even caring if Levi would get angrier by it. As she pulled him closer and embraced him tighter, she felt him shaking under her arms. Then drops of liquid seeped through her pants as his shaking persisted. Levi finally allowed himself to let loose.

Hange lifted her head slowly and carefully removed her arms around his shoulders to get a look, but Levi's hands found her shoulders and forced her to stay in their position.

"Don't look!" he berated. The boy circled his arms round her back to pull her even closer, probably to muffle the angry noises he was making while crying.

What followed was an unplanned weeping spree between two best friends with Levi shaking and screaming from time to time, and Hange silently sobbing as she adjusted herself in their position so that his head was now on her shoulder. She kept on whispering 'sorry' as she held him tighter or rubbed his back each time he would scream.

When the emotions have ebbed on a regulated level and when Levi's cries had been reduced to quiet sobs, the pair broke up from their position. Hange's tears had long dried on her cheeks from the waiting. Their eyes met for a moment. The girl took it s her cue to start talking.

"Do you hate me, Levi?"

She cringed at her own query. What if Levi hated her after everything? What would she do? How would she respond? How would she take it? He was her best bud, even if they didn't formally discussed that. She was pretty sure he felt the same... only there were non-platonic feelings involved.

Nevertheless, she still wanted to know.

"I don't hate you, Hange," he replied then sighed. "And I forgive you."

She smiled wistfully. "Thank you. That means a lot."

The young girl was about to reach out and hug him again when she felt him resist. "What?"

"Just please don't lead me on, Hange. That means no hugs and no kisses." He imposed, hands on her wrists again.

"Well, I was going to miss hugging you, but okay." She relented without much trouble.

And though nothing really official came out from their talk (what talk?), both of them had a silent and mutual agreement that something was indeed between them that they weren't sure they were ready to acknowledge yet.

* * *

To be honest, the parts where I had them curse made me cringe while writing since I don't normally cuss so... yup.


	9. Eighteen - Promenade

I was gonna skip this, but I can't. Hahaha! I'm really sorry for the slow updates. Thank you for reading! :D

* * *

 **Chapter Nine: Eighteen – Promenade**

Levi never understood why students made such big fuss about a silly one-time event of dressing up gloriously and eating bland-tasting food while watching other kids like him dance to some cheesy music or flirt shamelessly. Seriously, the school should've allotted the funding to more worthy events like the annual school festivals or club events, stuff like that. But then again, even they had to pay for the prom fee to "ensure proper funding," or so the prom committee claimed. Fortunately for him, he wasn't obliged to attend, which meant more money for him (not that he was stingy; he just wanted to lose his money over something he deemed worthy of his funds), and less mouth to feed and one less person to look after for the committee. Levi liked to think that he was helping them out in his own way by ditching prom.

Besides, Kenny wouldn't be home until midnight, so he had to look after the house on prom night. This was just one time he was actually happy about his uncle being out until the ungodly hours of night.

"Aren't you going to prom? I thought you went shopping for prom dresses with the others?" Levi asked Hange during their break from their study session that afternoon.

The young girl frowned and hummed. "Well, I did go out with them for prom dresses, but I'm not really interested with this whole prom thing, really. Nanaba said I was just there for second opinion. You know, to check if the dresses that they choose suit them."

"So you're really not going?"

"Nope, not really interested," she quipped, reaching for a slice of apple from the plate before them. "And well, if you look at the history of prom, it is held for the sake of finding someone to marry, hence the festivities, dressing up, and socializing. And, you're not attending, right?"

Levi raised an eyebrow. "What does that have to do with you?"

"What does that have to do with you?" Hange mocked him, earning a pinch on her leg. "Well, if you're not going, then what's the point of me going? I won't have anyone to bother. Nanaba, Nifa, and Lynne have dates, and though Oluo said he's going stag, I don't think he even enjoys my company as much as you do."

He scoffed. "Invite Erwin, then."

The young girl's eyes widened at the suggestion. "Invite Erwin? He's in second year college now, Levi. I doubt he'd even say yes if I do ask him out."

It was Levi's turn to widen his eyes at Hange's statement. "So you actually considered asking Erwin for prom?"

"Well, I didn't, but since you suggested it, I considered it."

"What?"

"Whaaat?"

Levi sighed heavily. "You're weird, Hange."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Like you said a million times already."

Silence enveloped them for a minute.

"So, are you really planning on asking Erwin out?"

Hange just looked at him blankly. "Levi, I already told you I'm not going, so there's really no point in asking anyone out." A naughty smile crossed her face. "Are you still jealous of Erwin?"

Levi crossed his arms over his chest and huffed. "You wish, four eyes."

"Awww, wittle Weevi is jeawous of Ewwin Smith," she cooed, petting Levi's head affectionately. "Let me tell you something though, frowns-a-lot; I'm flattered you actually feel that way sometimes. It's like I'm pretty or something!"

The young lad glanced for a while before mumbling. "You're not ugly, Hange."

She removed her hand from his hair and exaggeratedly clapped her hands on her mouth, feigning surprise. "Is that a compliment, I'm hearing? Please say it again. Louder this time!" She said in a sing-song manner.

He turned round to face her once again and flicked her on the forehead. "I said, you're _not_ ugly, Hange."

The young girl was clearly having so much fun with this, he could tell from the bright grin plastered on her not ugly face as she did a little dance in her seat. "Levi thinks I'm pretty!"

"No."

"But you just said I wasn't ugly. So that means, you think I'm pretty."

Levi could feel his ears burning and his cheeks quickly matching the red skin of the apples Hange was snacking on. His fist clenched under the table, fighting the urge to smack her right in the kisser to shut her up. He glared at Hange.

"You know, whatever. Let's just get on to Math, now. We have a long test next week."

* * *

The week when prom was scheduled to happen seemed to breeze through. Almost everyone in Levi and Hange's class couldn't pay attention anymore to their teachers and couldn't concentrate on the seatwork and project works they were all supposed to accomplish at the end of the week. Even Oluo who was usually focused with schoolwork would sometimes space out in the middle of classes, something he wasn't prone to doing. In between classes, all he could hear were his classmates talking about prom, prom, and more about prom. He was so amazed and annoyed at the same time at how they could obsess so much on one event that didn't even entailed them anything unlike in sports festivals or fairs. In fact, his ears were so tired of hearing anything related to prom that he asked if he and Hange could eat their lunch at the school rooftop. Just anywhere to escape this whole prom madness.

"I'm pretty sure we'd also be like them if we're also going to attend," Hange told him as they ate. "But since we both decided not to go, we're not excited for anything."

Levi furrowed his brows as he looked at her. "Are you _really sure_ you don't want to go?"

She smiled and nodded. "C'mon, Levi. This isn't my first prom remember? I was Erwin's date two years ago."

"Oh yeah," he scowled at the memory.

"You didn't talk to me for two solid days after that even though I asked you if you're going to be fine if I said yes to his prom-posal." She nudged him on his leg with her right foot.

He snorted. "Prom-posal, right. He only asked you nonchalantly, Hange. No flowers, no surprises, and no candles inside dimly lit rooms compared to what we've seen so far the past few days."

"Which is totally fine with me because I'm not really one for flashy things like that." She said in between chewing her food. "The simpler, the more intimate."

Levi rolled his eyes. "Sure."

Hange swallowed her food before speaking. "But what about you, Levi? You haven't been to any prom, and certainly there wouldn't be any in college anymore so why aren't you going?"

The young boy sighed as he placed his already empty lunch box on his side. "I already told you, Hange; I'm not a fan of such setup: dimly lit place with live, loud music from some band that probably sucks, and being surrounded by people who can't keep their hands to themselves."

"Not to mention, it'd be cramped, so when things get sweaty from all the dancing, it reeks."

Levi shuddered in disgust. "You don't have to remind me, Hange."

* * *

"Hey, Levi! You're not gonna do anything on prom night, right?" Hange asked him as they sat on the back of the bus they always rode on the way home.

"I'll be in charge of looking after the house while Kenny is away." He casually replied, sitting beside Hange and placing his bag on his lap. "Why?"

Something about the smile that the young girl sported made him internally shiver.

"Can we stay at your house then?" She suggested.

"And thrash the place? Hell, no. Thrash your own, four eyes."

Hange snickered, lightly slapping Levi's shoulder. "No, silly! Let's hangout. Since our friends are having their own party, let's have our own, too! Don't worry, I'll only stay there until 10."

"And what are we going to do at home? Paint our nails and talk about our feelings?" The young lad remarked sarcastically.

If she was only snickering before, Hange bursted into loud laughter. "Oh my gosh, Levi! I just imagined you applying black nail polish and talking about your feelings! How unbecoming of you!" She continued guffawing, earning judging looks from the other passengers. Levi had to promptly shut her up by tackling her head under his arm and giving her the noogie. This only made her laugh more, though it had lessened in volume.

Hange quickly recovered from his surprise attack, exhaling. "Kidding aside, I was thinking maybe we could watch some of the DVDs my dad brought home for the family, eat our dinner while at it, or play video games. I can bring mine since you're too cool and mature to own one."

Levi huffed. "Well, I guess that's not a bad idea."

"Of course it's not! So, on Saturday, I'll drop by your place at 6. How does that sound?"

* * *

Levi didn't have to guess who was at the door that time since he was only expecting one person to arrive. Oh, and he was a bit miffed at the fact that Hange was five minutes late from their agreed time. What made it even more ironic was it was her who planned everything down to her time of arrival. He opened the door, only wide enough to let him see Hange with just one eye.

"Hey, Levi! I'm sorry I'm—"

Just to let her know how irritated he was at her tardiness, Levi closed the door shut and locking it, smirking to himself. He tried to suppress a snicker escaping his mouth when Hange all but kick the door open to let herself in.

The young lad unlocked and opened the door, only to be slammed by Hange's fist squarely on his nose. He could feel his eyes watering at the corners as his nose throbbed from the impact. The pain shocked him so much that he couldn't even get mad at her or something.

"Oh no, Levi! I'm so sorry!" She yelled as she let herself in, eyes wide like saucers at what she had done. "Oh no, you're bleeding!"

Hearing that, Levi, still a little shocked, lifted his hand to feel his nose and felt something wet underneath his nostrils. Hange was right; he was bleeding. Even if they've been friends for a long time now, Levi only learned of Hange's strength tonight.

Not to sound like he was being too cool or something, but what really shocked him more than his bloody nose and Hange's unintentional punch was the strength it packed with it.

When the panic had subsided and his nose had finally stopped bleeding (Hange stuffed so much tissue in his nostrils he thought he was going to die not being able to breath properly instead of bleeding profusely), the pair had settled at the living room, watching _The Sound of Music_ (with Hange singing along the musical parts) as they ate the dinner he cooked for them. It was macaroni and cheese, not the ones that cooked instantly. Hange said she remembered watching this movie when she was younger, which explained why she knew the lyrics to some of the songs (Levi still found her voice pretty).

"How's your nose?" She asked him out of the blue. Levi's eyes wandered a bit on the screen even if his body had angled to face her before meeting her eyes. He could see concern and guilt swimming in them.

"It's not as painful anymore." He answered as his hand reached for his nose. "And I don't think it'll bleed again anytime soon."

She sighed and smiled softly. "That's a relief then. I'm really sorry, Levi. You're the first person I ever punched and you're not even someone I'm not in good terms with."

Her first kiss, too, but Levi quickly dismissed the memory back to the recesses of his subconscious. He honestly couldn't remember how it felt anymore, if he even had to talk about it.

"Well, you're not the first one to punch me, so I guess that makes you feel better?"

Hange snorted as she focused her attention back to the movie. "As if that'll make me feel tons better."

 _The Sound of Music_ sure took its sweet time. The movie wasn't so bad, though for the most part, he wished Hange would stop accompanying the cast when they were singing. Sure, he liked her voice, but how the hell could he appreciate a good movie with her singing in the background? He liked the scenes, though.

Levi had long cleaned up after them, placing the empty bowls and stained spoons at the kitchen sink to be taken care of later. Hange had replaced the DVD player with a new movie. This time, it was far from all the singing that the first movie had. Gory, bloody, and full of shouting. Levi cringed as he imagined how much work the production team did just to produce that amount of blood for one movie.

"Say, Levi," the young girl suddenly spoke without looking at him, "if our class gets drafted for something like that, do you think you'd live long enough to the third day?"

Levi learned he could never watch a movie in peace when he was with Hange.

"Well, what about you?" he might as well humour her then.

The young lady pouted as she contemplated her fate in the fictional event. "Maybe if I really wanted to live until the end, I'd stay out of trouble as much as possible and only kill when the need arises," she replied, rubbing her chin, "but I mean, look at the group of students who managed to hack the system! I guess I'll probably find some means to hack the system, too, and not have to kill everyone for survival."

Levi glanced at the screen then back to Hange again, who still wasn't looking at him. "They'll die in the end eventually. I watched it before already."

Hange's head snapped to his direction, a pissed look painted on her face. "Way to go spoiling the movie for me, Levi."

"That's payback for singing so much during the first movie."

The young girl raised her hand in defeat. "Okay, fine. We're even then."

Movie marathons were actually pretty boring, at least for Levi, so they had long left the DVD player in exchange for video games, like Hange told him a few days ago. He never really spent so much time on video games as much as your regular teen boy. For one, he had the house to look after, and an uncle to take care of (ironically) since the old man sacrificed his diet and rest for salary. Other than that, the afternoon study sessions with Hange had already taken up much of his time for video games. And frankly, he'd rather read some manga during his free time.

The young lady was truly entertaining to watch and listen to while playing. Levi secretly took pride in the fact that his inexperience with video games didn't stop him from creaming Hange on _Mortal Kombat_. She yelled, shrieked, laughed, and muttered cusses under her breath depending on the state of her character. All the while, Levi would steal glances just to see her reactions in real time, and it was worth missing a beat in the game. Hange was truly an animated person through and through.

"Well, this is pretty shitty," she mumbled as they both selected their next set of characters for their next battle, "and to think I already chose Shang Tsung to beat your sorry ass."

Levi smirked. "Unlike you, I actually follow the combos and not just smash the buttons at random hoping it'd unlock something." He coolly retorted.

Hange huffed. "So much for your first time, huh? Even Ezra can't beat me in this game."

"Of course he can't beat you, Hange. He's twelve."

Their video game battle ended with Levi winning all ten rounds against Hange, much to the lady's chagrin. Hange's father had called her up five minutes ago, informing her that he'd be at the Ackermans in thirty minutes. Until then, Levi decided it was cleaning time already. After Hange had packed up her DVDs and her game console, and had helped Levi arranged a bit of the furniture in the living room, she settled on the couch, listening to the soft music playing in the background, care of Kenny's radio. Levi was still busy sweeping the floor from imaginary dusts that "might've accumulated when they rearranged the couch and the coffee table earlier."

Just then, Levi caught Hange in his peripheral vision sitting up from the couch.

"I know this song!" she exclaimed to no one in particular. "This is the song my mom and dad danced to on their wedding day!"

The young man shot her a confused look. "How would you know? You weren't even born then yet."

She rolled her eyes as she stood from the couch and stretched. "They told me about it, of course. I caught them dancing to this in the kitchen once when I was twelve." She chuckled at the memory. "The look on my mother's face was priceless when she saw me peer in the kitchen!"

Levi only shrugged his shoulders and continued sweeping as Hange sang in the background. He allowed himself to smile a little as he listened to her happy singing and occasional fumbling for lyrics as the song reached the chorus. That was when he felt Hange's presence dangerously close behind him. The young lad stopped and turned to face her. Something in her smile told him this was going to be trouble.

"What do you want?" He hissed.

Hange giggled. "Levi, let's dance!"

She stretched out her hand, clearly inviting him to join her in her own world. He scowled.

"Hange, I don't dance."

Hange snorted and still grabbed his arm anyway. "You don't, but not anymore after this."

The young lad wasn't so sure if being dragged to his feet and tumbling as she twirled him around clumsily would qualify as dancing, but to Hange's botched standards, it was. Then there was more dragging, more arm lifting, and more twirling that Levi thought his dinner was going down the drain (literally) anytime if it persisted. But she was enjoying this torture so much, the way she grinned from ear to ear as she giggled each time he would twirl him around. Levi never wished so hard to be taller until tonight just so he could make her go through the torture he was subjected to. When the song ended, Hange even had the balls to dip him like in those cheesy movies where the protagonist usually whispered sweet nothings into the ear of the other protagonist.

"Release me," he muttered, glaring.

Hange smirked slyly. "Okay, if you say so."

And she did, but was quick enough to catch him before his head even hit the carpet. Levi had never clung on to someone desperately his whole life and had never wanted so much to punch Hange in the gut until tonight especially as she didn't hold back with her cackling at his reaction.

* * *

You know how it works. Please tell me what you think! :D


	10. Twenty (Part 1) - Distance

**Chapter Ten: Twenty (Part One) – Distance**

High school went swimmingly for Levi and Hange (well, mostly for Hange simply because she was the resident genius). When the time came for them to choose which course they wanted to take for college, the two had no choice but to be separate from each other... for the most part, since they didn't really share the same passion about things they wanted to pursue. For example, Levi knew he couldn't take on the academic writing and highfaluting readings that Hange was probably going to endure in Botany, which he didn't mind one bit because he wanted to take Mechanical Engineering; he wanted to make something with his hands. Plus there was a lot of Maths, too, something he was good at. Hange, no matter how brilliant that young lady was, would only ruin scaled models with her lack of grace and finesse. Never mind the grease and all the other mess he would have to deal with on a regular basis. Levi felt he belonged here.

This meant they probably had to study on different schools for the first time. With Hange graduating the top of their batch, some schools willingly offered her with scholarships like a salesman convincing someone to buy whatever he was assigned to sell even if it wasn't needed. Levi, on the other hand, only took entrance tests in schools that specialized in his desired field of study.

He wasn't really sure how to feel about their possible arrangement. When they both have enrolled to different schools, Hange promised that she'd make it a point to drop by his house every month and call him every week so he wouldn't miss her so much (as if). Levi also told her that he'd try to visit her at her university when his schedule permitted him. Realistically speaking, though, Hange's school was so far from where they both lived, which was why she had to stay at the dorms inside her campus. The young man wasn't so sure if he could commit being such a friend in that kind of circumstance. Levi just hoped he wouldn't miss out so much on Hange's college life.

"Don't worry, Levi. We'll be fine." She told him once, before she left for boarding.

He would be lying if he said he didn't feel abandoned after that day. But life must move on for them.

* * *

A year had passed already, and they have miraculously adjusted with college. Levi still wasn't as sociable as he should be considering this was college, and a lot of socializing happened during college, but he managed to survive with as little interaction as possible. And for the record, Levi wasn't anti-social, thank you very much. Oluo once told him that the more appropriate description for him was asocial.

Speaking of Oluo, that punk happened to be his freaking blockmate for the rest of their college life. Levi still thought Oluo wasn't so bad to be with, but then he was still that trying hard to be the cool kid who was just to cool for everything, even for feelings. Sometimes Levi just wanted to pull his tongue off and let it recoil in his mouth like some rubber band or something. And speaking more about his blockmates, Nanaba was also enrolled in the same course as they were, which actually surprised him since he thought she would pursue something more kinaesthetic than just working with her hands. Then again, life was full of surprises: sometimes shitty, sometimes not so bad. At least he didn't have to endure his freshman year on his own, thanks to his two schoolmates. He didn't mind Nanaba one bit, but Oluo? Sure he wasn't so bad, but if he could only shut up for a whole minute, Levi would probably think of him differently.

The three of them quickly established a dynamic where each of them wait at the same spot by the fountain in the middle of the school grounds before going off to the nearest coffee shop to study until dinner. They would eat their dinner together and head home separately, with Oluo going back to university because he stayed at the dorms. Sometimes Nanaba would drop him off to his house when she was feeling generous or whenever she wanted to talk to him about something (mostly the latest guy classmate in one of her non-Engineering classes who attempted to hit on her) without Oluo's unnecessary side comments. But when Nanaba needed to rush home, Levi would take the train home and would usually arrive to an empty house due to Kenny staying up late at work. Sometimes his uncle wouldn't even go home depending on what he was tasked to do, so he mostly spent the nights inside their house by himself.

After his evening bath, his phone would ring incessantly as the screen of his phone flashed Hange's name repeatedly and in capital letters, too (the way she had saved it in his phonebook the first time). Hange's weekly phone call somehow evolved to daily phone calls, but he didn't mind most of the time. It had been part of his routine now, that he didn't realize until a few days ago that he had actually worked on a schedule that allowed him to finish everything he needed to do before he spent another hour and a half (or more because this was Hange we're pertaining to) on his phone, entertaining Hange.

"I hope you're not going to ask me what I think about ferns or whatever plants you've been observing lately."

He heard her chuckle from the other line. "I miss you, too, Levi."

"Tch. You call me _every single day._ "

"That's because you don't call me every single day. And it's different talking to you in person, just so you know. I can't see your reactions at all."

He snorted. "You said it yourself, four-eyes; I only have one expression, and I'm pretty sure it's burned in your memory."

She laughed. "How can I forget the only way you look? Don't tell me you still hadn't learned to smile."

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't need to. I probably look weird or something."

"All the more it matches your overall weird personality!" She joked. "Anyway, even if you're going to tell me that you won't hear me out, I'd just go ahead and tell you what happened today like I always do..."

Sometimes they would literally talk about what happened with their day, or if Hange learned something interesting in the myriad of minor subjects she chose to enroll in for that semester. Levi mostly listened since he really didn't have that many interesting stories about college. Well, all he ever did was learn about machines and gears and make scaled models. Hange on the other hand, dealt with people. Obviously, people were more interesting to talk about than machines.

For the most part, Levi would accidentally fall asleep in the middle of their conversation especially after a long day filled with nothing but major subjects, but for the sake of hearing Hange's voice—even if it wasn't near to how she sounded like in the flesh—everyday like before, the youngster was pretty okay giving up a bit of his sleeping time.

* * *

Levi didn't have pets growing up. His uncle claimed he was allergic to any animal within a 50-meter radius, but Levi thought otherwise; he honestly thought that Kenny just wasn't an animal person and that his allergies was just a cover up to keep Levi from bringing any pets home. The first time he brought a stray home was when he was five. Little Levi found two stray kittens a few blocks away from their house so he decided to bring them home, feed them, and groom them. His uncle let him do what he wanted, but in the end, he had to leave them in their old neighbourhood when they moved here. Levi was pretty sad for a whole three days because of that. Ever since then, Levi stopped bringing home whatever cat or dog he found walking aimlessly in the streets (but he did stop to feed them and pet them).

One chilly evening, after his study sessions with Oluo and Nanaba, they came across a stray puppy, so cute and friendly that the three of them (yes including Oluo) couldn't resist its charm. They spent about three minutes cooing (Nanaba) and petting (Levi) the poor stray. Said puppy was so happy with the attention that it jumped to the nearest person within its reach, which happened to be Nanaba. The three of them eventually talked about ownership of the puppy, and arrived with this conclusion: Oluo was _too cool_ for cute things like puppies (but he didn't hate them), Nanaba preferred cats more than dogs, and had a crap load of cats back in their house already, which left Levi to be the candidate of new owner. The most that Nanaba and Oluo got as a reaction was the slight widening of Levi's eyes and slight tugging of the corner of his lips. It had been decided then; Levi was keeping this thing _regardless of Kenny's decision_.

He went home to an empty house (yet again). The young man figured he'd talk to Kenny about his new pet in the morning. If his uncle would even be back by the morning, that is. In the meantime, his new pet would have to stay at the back, where it was safe from any big dogs that might take advantage of its cute state.

* * *

Levi nearly forgot about time since he was busy playing with the energetic and eager puppy. He was now slumped on the grass with the puppy running in circles on his stomach, making him feel a little ticklish from all the movement. He must've been out for about an hour now, and this puppy still hadn't used up all of its energy. It reminded him so much of battery operated wind up toys that never stopped unless you switch it off or the battery ran out. Perhaps until it grew up, it'd remain a big ball of adrenaline, ready to pound any human willing to be its playmate.

The puppy finally stopped and plopped itself on Levi's chest. As much as he found this thing cute, Levi couldn't really stand its dog breath. He hoped it wouldn't lick him in the face soon or he'd reek of dog saliva, and Levi smelled anything _but_ saliva (or anything disgusting, basically). It yipped before resting its head on its paws and looking at its new owner with its big eyes.

Big eyes, brown fur, couldn't be stopped—Levi sat up, cradling the puppy in his arms, as a brilliant idea came over him.

With a smirk, he let the puppy lick his knuckles. He'd just wash his hands later. Levi lightly snickered.

"I'm going to name you Zoe."

* * *

"Send me its photo later. I want to see the puppy!"

Levi snorted. "No, you'll probably just want to dissect it like the nasty creep that you are."

Hange whined at the other line. "You're so mean, Levi. You know I only dissect animals when they're dead. I don't kill them _then_ dissect them." She corrected. "So where did you find it?"

"I found it with Nanaba and Oluo outside the cafe we usually hold our study sessions together."

"Aww, that's really cute. And you've been doing a good job being sociable, you little brat. I'm so proud of you."

The young man scowled, as if Hange would see him from the other line.

"So, what did you name it? I bet its a very generic name like Spot or Max because you know, you're totally unoriginal."

"Whatever, four-eyes. The name I chose for _my_ pet fits it perfectly."

"Oh, yeah?"

He sneered. "In fact, you've probably heard it so many times already."

The young woman laughed, making Levi put his phone a little far from his ear. "See? Totally unoriginal of you, my dear."

Levi smirked in amusement. "I named it Zoe."

"Oh?"

"I named it after you, Hange _Zoe_."

He could imagine Hange frowning for a second then beaming in a heartbeat. "It must be a really smart puppy then."

"No," he rebutted, "it's just as annoying and loud as you are."

"Tch. I bet you kept it and named it Zoe because you miss me so much it hurts."

"Why would I miss you? You call me _everyday_."

"But you don't _see_ me everyday. That's different."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it; you're very smart, miss valedictorian."

"Which is why _I'm_ valedictorian in the first place." What followed was a hearty laugh from Hange. Levi only rolled his eyes. "So are you going to send me a photo of Zoe later so that I can see how cute it really is."

"Probably tomorrow morning. It's late now, it's probably asleep. One thing's for sure, though; it's definitely cuter than you'll ever be."

" _Oh?_ " the young man didn't miss the teasing in her tone. "So you actually think I'm cute, huh?"

"What, four-eyes? Do you get enough sleep lately? What makes you jump into assumptions like that?"

"Oh come on, Levi. You just said it yourself: the puppy's cuter than I'll ever be. It means I'm cute, but the puppy's cuter." Hange explained, like the nerd that she was. "That was pretty smooth, Levi, I must say."

The young man tried to process what Hange meant, and when his head finally functioned, his ears immediately brightened to a shade of pink. "W-Whatever, four-eyes. Just... go the fuck to sleep or something. I'm tired. Good night."

"Goo—"

Levi already dropped the call even before Hange could finish her greeting.

* * *

In the middle of their study session, Levi's phone rang once, alerting him of an unread message. He fished for it in his pocket and saw it was from Hange.

"Aww, you guys still stay in contact with each other! But then again, you've been friends for a long time now." Nanaba remarked, shocking Levi. Not that they kept their communication a secret to their friends. Levi just didn't feel so comfortable with the idea that people would find out what they mostly talked about... which wasn't rated R, by the way. He was just... shy.

Well, since their table knew about Hange's message now, Levi just shrugged and opened it. He doubted Hange would even send him something so... personal... especially when the sun hadn't even set.

 _'Look, Levi! I have a new pet, too!'_ her message read. _'But since they don't allow animals inside dorms, I just brought it and made a nook for it at the entrance of our dorm so I can check on it everyday!'_

Nanaba, Levi learned, was still looking from his shoulder. "Aww, she has a new pet, too! It'd be cute if she found a puppy, too. It'll be like a couple pet or something."

Levi shot Nanaba a mortified look. "The fuck is a _couple pet_?" he murmured. "We're not even a couple."

The girl rolled her eyes as she tried not to chuckle at the unbelievable sight of Levi being mortified. "Not yet, you mean. Let's see her new pet. Come on!"

They waited for the image to load, which was currently being sent by Hange. When it was fully loaded, an image of a cute, fat, black kitten greeted them via Levi's phone screen.

"Oh, that's so cute!" Of course Nanaba would find it cute, Levi thought. She liked cats better than dogs anyway. "And it's so, so fat and tiny!" Levi only snorted as he waited for Hange to stop typing.

 _'Ask me what its name is!'_

He rolled his eyes as he typed his response. _'I bet it's something shitty.'_

 _'Hahaha very funny, frowns-a-lot. If only you knew, you'd be taking that comment back.'_

 _'It does remind me so much of you, though. It's tiny, and though it's grumpy with others, it's really nice to me.'_

"Just like you!" Nanaba read the last statement allowed and laughed as if they were the only ones inside the cafe.

Oluo's head shot up from the thick textbook he'd been buried in for the past thirty minutes now. "Keep it down, Nanaba. A civilized woman doesn't laugh like a banshee." He scolded, shaking his head in disappointment. The young lady only rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"Anyway, what got both your panties in a bunch? You two seem awfully cheery so it must be something grand." The other male questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Nanaba sighed. "Oluo, we're not overreacting here okay. We're just talking to Hange," she explained before turning to Levi, "tell Hange we said hi." So Levi proceeded telling his friend of the greeting.

 _'Hi Nanaba and Oluo!'_ Hange's messaged popped. _'Levi, you still haven't asked me what it's name is. Come on!'_

The boy frowned. _'Okay. What is its name?'_

Hange was probably beaming right now, he imagined. _'It's a very nice name.'_

 _'Wow,'_ was Levi's curt response.

 _'Honest. Because it's so much like you, I decided to name it Leevi. I call it Vivi for short. Pretty good, huh?'_

Levi was going to deny until the day he died that his heart fluttered and he was flattered that Hange named some dirty fat kitten after him.

 _'So I guess we're even now, huh?'_

"Oh dear Maria, please just get married, you two." Oluo commented out of the blue, shocking Levi for the second time that period. Even _he_ had the gall to look over his shoulder.

"You know, for once, Oluo, I agree with you." Nanaba seconded.

Levi vowed to never open his phone in a public place again. His conversations with Hange would have to wait in the safety of his home.

* * *

HELLO! I've raised myself from the dead just to update this story. I'm really sorry for the long wait. I hope you still find this to your liking, though. :D


	11. Twenty (Part 2) - Family

It's already 11 chapters, but I'm including a new bunch of characters in this story! Looks like Levi has another relative, and I'm not even going to ask if anybody wants to guess who since, you know, it's pretty pointless at this point.

Anyway, are any of you just watching the anime or just reading the manga or you've watched and read the manga? If so, are any of you updated? If yes, then _omg the recent chapters have been torturing my poor heart with frustration and wonder and sadness._ _Geez._

Anyway, thank you for reading this story! :D

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven: Twenty (Part Two) – Family**

Levi woke up to the scent of burnt bacon and pancake batter fluttering in the kitchen as he trudged downstairs to prepare his breakfast. He guessed his uncle might've arrived extremely late last night while he was asleep and had to be up early today. It was kind of alienating, though; they hardly ate pancakes for breakfast. Just what was Kenny up to?

What greeted him was Kenny in an apron, (trying his hand at) cooking breakfast for three with his back facing him, and a little girl seated on one of the chairs in the dining room. The girl looked at him as she munched on her toast. Levi wouldn't say it, but the kid was actually cute. She'd definitely be cuter if she wouldn't be your usual whiny and bratty kid.

"Good morning," she greeted as she removed the toast from her mouth. The kid had manners, too, apparently. Levi nodded in acknowledgement.

Kenny turned around to glance at his back and saw Levi standing on the doorway of the kitchen. "Oh, you're awake now. How long have you been standing there with that puzzled look on your face?"

Instead of answering immediately, Levi strode to where his uncle stood and whispered. "Who is that kid? Don't tell me that the reason why you've been away from home most of the time is because you're into some sick shit involving kids."

"Language, Levi. Not in front of the kid," his uncle chided jokingly as he poured more pancake batter on the pan. "Anyway, I'm not into that 'sick shit' you're talking about. That kid is your cousin, something like that."

Cousin? So he still had relatives left, and not just Kenny?

"During our recent filming, we shot inside an orphanage down south and that's where I met her." He explained as he continued cooking the pancakes. "We asked for the names of the kids who took part in the shoot to include them in the credits, stuff like that, when I stumbled upon our surname."

"So you decided to keep her because she's also an Ackerman?" Levi finished the statement for his uncle. "How noble of you, old man."

The older man snorted. "Hey, you're pretty much like her, mind you. I took custody of you when your mom died."

Levi glanced tentatively at the kid on their dining room. She was smiling a little as she generously applied butter and jam on her bread, completely immersed in her world of breakfast food at the moment. She might've sensed that he was staring when she looked up from what she was doing and smiled shyly at him.

For an Ackerman, she was actually cute. Of course he wouldn't admit it openly.

"There'll be court hearings pretty soon, so she and I will be out of the house most of the time, but only in the mornings."

"And in the afternoons, who's going to take care of her?"

Kenny smirked knowingly. Levi already knew how this conversation was going to end, of course. It was _utterly_ unnecessary to ask.

* * *

Her name was Mikasa, and Kenny was right when he said that they'd be mostly out in the mornings for court hearings, or daycare for Mikasa when there weren't any sessions. Mikasa was surprisingly anything but whiny and bratty for her age. Levi was left amazed each time he'd ask her to clean up after playing and after eating because she did so without complaining. Not even an exasperated sigh, he noted.

He decided having Mikasa here wasn't so bad. She would sometimes help him wash Zoe so all was well.

 _'Oh, Levi, she's so cute!'_ Hange replied after receiving the picture of his cousin he quickly snapped when he called her attention, after much convincing on Levi's end. The boy snorted as he started typing his reply.

"Who's that?" the kid asked as she glanced up at him from reading her picture books.

He raised an eyebrow. "A friend." _'She's asking me who you are.'_

His phone rang once. _'What did you tell her, then?'_

 _'None of her business.'_

 _'Levi...'_

He let out a sigh. _'I was kidding, okay. It's not like I can talk to her that way. She's a kid.'_

Mikasa closed her picture book and kneeled on the couch, placing her hands on his arm for support. "Hey, that's me." She pointed at her picture on the conversation thread.

"Yes, it's you. She wanted to know how you look like." He confirmed without looking up from his phone.

She giggled. "And she said I was cute."

The young man shot his cousin an incredulous look. "You can read?"

Mikasa nodded. "They teach us how to read in daycare."

Before the little girl could even read the rest of their conversation, Levi closed his phone and pocketed it, safe from the prying eyes of this five-year-old.

Levi vowed he wouldn't talk to Hange until he was in the safety of his room.

* * *

It had been a while since the three of them sat and ate dinner together. This time, Levi volunteered to cook because no matter how long Kenny had been cooking for the both of them, he was still a better cook than his uncle would ever be. Plus he'd been observing how little Mikasa's face would scrunch each time she forced herself to finish what was on her plate. Seriously, the kid needed to taste something decent for a change.

"I don't remember buying you a scarf." Kenny commented before eating his spoonful of mashed potatoes.

Mikasa didn't reply until she had finished chewing everything in her mouth. "Someone at daycare gave it to me."

Levi never really contributed much in conversations unless it was interesting to him or he was the one people were directly talking to, so he was pretty much silent the whole dinner.

"And who might this someone be?" The tone Kenny used in his question reminded Levi so much of the first time they talked about Hange. He knew where this was heading.

Levi glanced the little kid seated opposite to him and saw a hint of pink on her cheeks even underneath that scarf. Looking at it, it sort of matched the hue of her cheeks since it was deep red and all. He allowed himself a little smirk.

Mikasa shrunk in her seat as she clutched on the scarf wrapped around her neck. "Eren."

Kenny raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Have we met this Eren boy before?"

She shook her head slowly as she picked on her food.

Since Levi was usually the one who picked Mikasa up at daycare after his classes, he searched in his memory the faces of the kids who was always around the little girl whenever he arrived. "Who? The blond one or the brunet kid?"

Mikasa's eyes lit up. "The brunet one. That's Eren. He gave me this."

Levi remembered now. It was that brat who seemed to have high energy all throughout the day. He was a pretty congenial kid, too, or he deemed so since he usually saw him being crowded around by other kids besides Mikasa. Quite a storyteller, too, it seemed; though Mikasa told him one time that most of Eren's stories came from Armin, the other kid who was good friends with her.

"It seems like this kid is moving too fast, eh?" Kenny murmured, though Levi was actually able to catch what he said. He snorted.

"Chill the f—" oh wait, language—Levi nearly forgot about that, "chill, old man. It's not like the kid asked Mikasa's hand for marriage or something. He just gave her a sh—scarf."

Mikasa casted him a look of confusion. "Eren wants my hand? Does that mean he has to cut it off?"

Kenny chortled at the innocent question. Levi cringed in disgust.

"I think what your cousin meant is Eren wants to marry you. When someone wants your hand in marriage, it means that person wants to marry you, not to cut your hand." The older man expounded.

"Oh," she mumbled, nodding slowly. "So can I marry Eren then?"

"No." Both men chorused. Both were taken aback at their unanimous reply.

Kenny cleared his throat. "Well, not yet."

Or maybe not ever, Levi wanted to add.

Levi learned something about himself that time: he could be that overprotective authoritative figure if he wanted to. He had no idea if that was going to be a good or bad thing for Mikasa.

* * *

 _"A sleepover? That's cute,"_ Hange said over the phone, "you know, we never had a sleepover when we were younger."

"Don't even think about it, Hange." Levi hissed as he massaged his temples. The kids have been nothing but noisy since they all came here. "I don't even know what has gotten into Kenny's head that he would allow all this... pandemonium to happen."

 _"Pandemonium, huh? Wow, Levi that's such a **big** word,_ " she teased. "I'm so proud that you're learning something new!"

He scowled. "Even you know I'm not stupid, four-eyes."

 _"Of course you aren't, silly boy!"_ Hange cackled from the other line. Seriously, this girl needed to check her volume every now and then. _"Well, I guess I better leave you with those kids before they start thrashing the house. Talk to you tomorrow, Levi."_

"That's unnecessary, but sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

And with a click of her phone, Hange's line was dead.

His senses instantly picked up what was going on at the moment: little girls rolling on the carpeted floor (which he forgot to vacuum yesterday) while shrieking/screaming/screeching, whatever seemed appropriate to whoever was listening. They had long abandoned watching the evening cartoons and have turned the television off in favour of horsing around the living room, which was totally within Levi's sight since he stood by the window, watching and willing for them not to burst into crying or get into a fight. _He was so not ready for this_.

Kenny was the one who picked up Mikasa from her daycare earlier before going back to work. When Levi had arrived from the study sessions, he was greeted by five little girls eating their snacks on the dining table with his uncle serving them the orange juice he squeezed yesterday. Apparently, Mikasa had already sought the old man's permission a week ago without his knowledge. And since Kenny wouldn't be able to help him out because they were still in the middle of a shoot, he promised Levi he'd pay him back with something, although he never knew what that something could be because his uncle left after serving snacks to the kids. Oh well, guess they'd have to talk about it when Kenny wasn't busy.

So far he had survived the rest of the evening (the girls played outside with Zoe so he had some time to gather his bearings) and dinner (Mikasa made an innocent mistake of announcing that her cousin cooked a mean mashed potato, much to the delight of the brunette brat he recalled as Sasha, as she squealed in excitement. The young man had no choice but to relent after much pleading from the girls—and he wasn't exactly the evil cousin he tried to paint himself to be. Since then, that Sasha kid never left his side until he managed to distract them with cartoons). Levi looked at the clock. The night was young, too young for these kids to even be asleep. They probably stayed a little later than nine or something since there was no school the following day. Until then, Levi hoped he'd be able to keep awake and look after each and every little girl in the house.

He didn't really dislike kids; what he disliked was the mess they left and the noises they made. If Hange were here, she'd probably berate him for thinking such because the reasons why he was a little apprehensive about brats were the very reasons that made them the brats that they were.

At the back of his head, Levi told himself that he should've considered asking Hange to come over, and help him deal with these balls of energy (save for the really quiet one. Was that Annie?).

But then again, that might not be a good idea. Riot might ensue.

He felt someone tugged at the hem of his shirt. Sasha, of course. Who else would it be? Strangely enough, this kid reminded him of Hange—brown hair, big brown eyes, and a little weird—but a cleaner kid version of the lady. He should snap a photo of this kid sometime and show it to Hange.

"Come join us play!" she cried, jumping up and down like the energetic brat that she was.

Kenny had to make sure he'd pay him for this, Levi thought.

She was then joined by this incredibly tiny blonde whose name reminded him of social studies. Historia, was it? "Yes, come join us, please!"

Levi made a mistake of looking up from the kids by his feet to the kids looking expectantly on him from where they were still on their stomachs. Even Mikasa showed the same expression that her friends sported at the moment. His eyes searched for the only girl who was seated on the couch, only to be betrayed when the girl only stared at him blankly then looked away. And to think he thought she'd be his favourite.

Yup. Inviting Hange over tonight would be a terrible idea.

* * *

The night ended with all five girls asleep on Mikasa's bed, all cuddled up with each other. Levi straightened up the sheets to cover everyone's feet. Mikasa was right smack in the middle, sandwiched between Sasha and Historia. Ymir was snuggled a little too close to the tiny blonde that he hoped she could still breath despite having her face covered with golden locks. That Annie kid was the only one facing the wall. He wondered how Mikasa even ended up friends with this girl to begin with. She practically spent the entire evening only watching them, occasionally joining them in their banter. Well, not really his problem.

Eventually, Levi humoured the little kids but mostly due to the fact that four girls dragged him with them to the carpet and decided to make a Levi sandwich with each kid pounding their whole bodies on his back like some mini-pro wrestlers. He stretched his back. The ache had subsided long ago.

Levi yawned. The girls were finally out of fuel, thank God. He made a mental note of washing up before he slept (just because he made contact with the dirty carpet), but he wanted so much to crash in bed and surrender to the arms of slumber. It could probably wait until tomorrow morning. He guessed he'd just have to sleep shirtless to keep the dirt from getting to his bed.

Just as he was about to take the whole shirt off, though, he heard heavy footsteps coming from the hall. He quickly shook his shirt back and opened his bedroom door. His cousin was in the middle of running when he peered from his room. The little girl stopped in her tracks.

"Thank you for being nice to my friends, Levi." Mikasa said, a small smile on her face. Then she ran back to her room again like nothing happened.

If he wasn't so dumbfounded with Mikasa's thanking him, Levi might've smiled slightly at the gesture.


	12. Twenty (Part 3) - Absent

**Chapter Twelve: Twenty (Part Three) – Absent**

"I can't believe we're picking up some snotty brat over at daycare. Tch," Oluo muttered under his breath as he shook his head.

Nanaba snorted as she parked her car in front of the daycare. "Oh come on, Oluo. Don't be such a jerk. There's no one but Levi to take care of his cousin since his uncle's mostly out on some shoot. Plus you already know that Mikasa's not a snotty brat, as you say." The girl smiled as she opened the door to get out.

Oluo only rolled his eyes as he also stepped out from the passenger seat to follow Nanaba.

Levi was already at the gate of the daycare, ringing the bell. Their teacher had informed him via SMS that daycare was cut short for that day due to problems with the pipes. Yeah, that could be trouble, he mused. With a bunch of kids who have poor control over their bladder and other bodily functions, it'd be the grossest and most horrendous scenario for a daycare. Levi understood and decided to go and pick Mikasa up the soonest possible time.

Their group was on his way to his house to work on their scaled model anyway, so they figured (with much yapping from Oluo who else) to head first to the daycare then go straight to the Ackermans. Levi promised them with snacks and dinner.

"You know, I never imagined you'd be so involved with kids." Nanaba commented with a smile as the trio waited for the gate to open.

Levi snorted. "I never imagined myself, but Mikasa's here, and Kenny would probably dislike it if I didn't pay much attention to her. And well, Mikasa's not the troublesome kind."

Oluo tutted. "That's where you're wrong, Levi. Kids are nothing but trouble."

"As if someone as yourself ever had experience with kids." Nanaba mumbled as she looked away. "I doubt kids would even want to be in your presence."

The gate opened with a shrill clashing between steel on steel from the lack of oil. Someone unfamiliar to Levi's eyes, probably someone around their age, stood before them with an expectant smile on her pretty face.

"Good afternoo—Oluo?"

Levi and Nanaba shot each other a confused look before simultaneously turning their heads to look at their friend. Said young man looked at them alternately and shrugged before focusing his attention to the petite girl before them.

"So you've been here all along, Petra." He greeted, scoffing. "I thought you'd stay until you grow old in our little town by the North, but then again, how can I blame you? I'm here, after all."

Almost on cue, the pretty girl didn't seem so fragile like she looked a few seconds ago. Her pretty face sported a scowl as she hissed and rolled her eyes indignantly. "Go ahead and dream, Oluo. _Stop living in your head_ _all the time_." She drawled the last statement to make sure Oluo heard it well. The young man scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

The girl, Petra, composed herself and cleared her throat. The scowl she had on before was now instantly replaced with a winning smile, befitting of how she actually looked like. "I'm so sorry about that. Oluo and I, well, we go a long way. Anyway, my name is Petra, and I just started being an assistant teacher today. How may I help you?"

Levi's eyes narrowed. Somehow, her sugary sweet tone, though nice to the ears, was something he decided was terrifying. The fact that she could change her demeanour (with Oluo as the stimulus) after a few counts was terrifying. But not as terrifying as Hange's, he immediately added in his thoughts.

If Nanaba hadn't nudged him on the arm, he would've stayed quiet in his thoughts. "Oh. I'm Levi, and I'm here to pick Mikasa Ackerman up. I'm her older cousin. The head teacher informed me of the daycare's current situation."

She chuckled. "Yeah. Pretty terrible, huh? We're hoping the plumber gets to fix it as soon as possible. Luckily, there are no classes tomorrow." Petra supplied as she opened the gate wider. "Come in. Mikasa's with her other friends by the reading corner."

The trio went in after Petra gestured for them to enter. They went past the small playground where some kids and another teacher stayed. Levi had gotten used to the shrieking and cackling of kids that he wasn't bothered anymore by the ruckus they were causing while playing in the swings and running around the slide. He briefly wondered if Hange would be fit being a daycare teacher with that energy of hers.

Speaking of Hange, that woman hadn't called him for two weeks now. Not even a quick message telling him if she was still breathing despite being nose-deep with all the readings. Levi instantly berated himself for sounding like an angry boyfriend.

He wasn't Hange's boyfriend. Yet.

His musings were cut at the sound of his name being called out in a shrill soprano by several kids. Levi snapped from his thinking and looked at the kids pooling at his feet. He could see Historia, Ymir, and Sasha, the latter clinging on his leg (of course). Mikasa was just closing the book she was reading and now preparing to leave.

"You're pretty popular with kids, huh?" Nanaba teased, an amused smile on her face.

He only snorted as he kneeled down to their level and greeted the girls, patting their heads lightly. Mikasa jogged towards Levi, bag on her back and with Armin in tow.

"You're incomplete. Where's the Eren kid?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"He didn't go to school today. He's sick." The little girl replied, her tone a little sad. "Can Armin come home with us? His grampa will be closing their flower shop a little later."

Armin, the blond kid who Levi recalled followed Mikasa around as well, stepped forward and smiled shyly. "H-Hello?"

Nanaba kneeled down this time beside Levi and beamed. "Oh my gosh, you're so cute!" She said, cooing at the shy kid. "What's your name?"

Said kid, blushed a thousand shades of pink as he tore away his big eyes and stared on his socks instead. "I'm Armin."

The pair was momentarily disrupted by the sound of Oluo's cries for help from the background. Levi and Nanaba looked around and saw a helpless Oluo, struggling to keep himself standing as several boys clung onto him—on his arms, his legs, one kid even clung on his neck, causing the poor guy to nearly choke. Nanaba and Levi only sighed. Petra, who was watching the whole thing unfold, rolled her eyes before berating the kids for using him as a toy. When the kids removed themselves from the now coughing Oluo, Petra marched towards him and met his eyes as he looked up. The girl frowned.

"I'm not even sorry they did that to you. You're the one who started it." She said with a snarl.

Oluo rubbed his arms, scowling. "You know that's not nice, Petra. Remember who saved you from the bullies in kindergarten? It was me, your _gallant knight in shining armour_."

"Tch, knight in shining armour my foot. Ever since you went here for high school, you've acted really strange. Spoke really strange, too. Stop it, Oluo; that's not how you are."

Said young man snorted and shook his head. "Look, are we playing house here? Because if you want to sound like my wife, then you better practice handling the kind of man that I am. Know what I'm saying?"

Petra placed her hand on her face and shook her head. "You're hopeless. I'm _so_ done with you."

Levi heard Nanaba snort. "They remind me so much of an old couple, it's hilarious." She commented.

* * *

Levi checked his phone and found a message from Nanaba. He turned to look at Oluo. "Nanaba just texted me not to wait for her. She's with someone else."

The young man seated across him raised an eyebrow. "With someone else, eh? So she's on a date, that's great. But our midterms is just around the corner. _That's not how priorities work_."

Levi only shrugged his shoulders and started reading his notes on vector mechanics.

"So who's the unlucky punk who thought it was a good idea to ask Nanaba out?"

Levi closed his eyes and sighed. "It's some upperclassman, Mike I think? The one she introduced to us a month ago."

Oluo's eyes widened slightly at the recognition. "Oh. The one who smelled everything and everyone on his way?" he shuddered. "Seriously, is Nanaba smoking something really hard she even said yes on a date with that weird ass senior?"

Levi was going to come up with an equally witty remark himself when he realized that maybe he was hit on the head or maybe he drank something with some indistinguishable drug mixed with it some time when he was younger that made him like Hange. Sure, Hange never went around smelling people and smirking after, but she was just as peculiar as this Mike guy. He chose to shut up instead and focused on more important things like his readings.

He briefly mused how silly it might've been like if Mike and Hange met and became friends. Not exactly a pleasing thought, but hey, he was really curious.

Speaking of Hange, it had almost been _three_ weeks since she last hit him up. She did send a short message a few days ago, apologizing for not keeping in touch recently because they were doing field work or something. Okay, acceptable. He secretly wished she could've informed him sooner, though.

Good heavens, he was really beginning to sound like he was an angry boyfriend.

He shook the thought away and chose to fill his head with vector mechanics instead.

* * *

Levi just came out of the shower when his phone rang. He walked towards his desk to check who the caller was, and his eyes widened when he saw Hange's name blaring on the screen.

"What is it, four eyes? Finally have the time to talk now?"

"Yeah. I've been busy, I know. And good morning to you, too, Levi." Hange replied. "What's with the sour mood? But then again, you've always been sour."

He scoffed as he toweled his hair dry. "Whatever. Why did you call?"

He heard the young lady giggle on the other line. "Look out your window, Levi!"

"Look out my window? Hange, what are you planning this time? Can't you just cut to the chase?" The young man muttered as he threw his towel on his chair and ambled towards his window, just like what he was told to do.

"But a surprise wouldn't be a surprise if I told you exactly what it is, right?"

He snorted. Of course, trust Hange to come up with surprises. The woman herself was a surprise. Levi swept the curtains to the side before looking out his window. His mouth was slightly agape when he found Hange standing on their lawn, a potted plant on her hand. The young lady was already expecting him to look so when their eyes met, her smile turned to a huge grin.

"Surprise, Levi! I'm back!" she said over the phone. "And as you can see, I even brought you a present."

Levi stood shocked for ten seconds before running from the window to put on a shirt, end the call, and meet Hange at their doorstep.

* * *

He slammed the door open and marched towards Hange, who wore what he'd like to call a shit-eating grin on her face. While he did miss seeing that on a regular day, he wanted so badly to wipe it off her face at the moment. The hell was she grinning for anyway when she didn't even tell him even a few minutes ahead that she'd drop by?

"Did you miss me?" she asked, mirth dripping in her voice. "I've been extra busy recently so I couldn't find the time to call or even hold conversations through SMS," she explained before stretching out her arm to hand Levi the potted plant she brought, "I hope you forgive me?"

The moment Levi acknowledged that he was screwed for the rest of his sorry life just because of Hange meant that regardless of the offense, he would still forgive the young lady. After all, before he even liked, _liked_ her, she was his friend. So he accepted the peace offering with a 'tch.'

"By the way, that is a succulent," Hange supplied, "it's not as high maintenance as most plants are since they don't need much watering, but you have to make sure it gets enough sunlight."

Levi gave the plant a once-over. "So it's like a cactus without spikes or something?"

Hange shook her head and clicked her tongue. "My dear, all German Shepherds are dogs, but not all dogs are German Shepherds." She said, but without a hint of condescendence, as she took the pot from him and began her explanation. "It can be confusing since some succulents have spikes, and there are cacti without spikes, but to make it easier to differentiate which is which," Hange held out the plant close to Levi, "a cactus has areoles where its spikes sprout from, while succulents don't. Areoles are white, and as you can see, it has none." She explained, pointing at the plant.

Levi deadpanned. "You come here in the morning to blab about plants. Classic Hange." He took the pot from her hands. "Thanks for this, though."

The young lady beamed. "Take care of it well, Levi. We got it from this really cool greenhouse our class visited last Monday." She fished for her phone inside her pocket and fumbled with it for a while before showing the screen to him. "Look, I have mine, too! I named it Sawney, and oh! That one's Bean."

The young man eyed the plant once more and raised an eyebrow. "This thing has a name?"

Hange rolled her eyes. "Of course, Levi. They're my babies! How else would I be able to identify them? Let me tell you, it was quite hard for me to have them apart, but I guess they'll be fine. Bean will be in good hands, I'm sure."

Levi moved his head to the side to escape Hange's hair ruffling and scowled. "Cheesy four eyes."

She only laughed in response. This time, Levi allowed her to pet his head (just this once). "Anyway, I've been standing here for a good fifteen minutes now. Why don't you be a good host and let me in and serve me breakfast. I'm starving!" Hange said as she dragged Levi by the arm to the doorstep.

Levi's face contorted to disbelief. "You mean you didn't eat anything before coming here?"

"Well, I drank some orange juice before I left, and that was it. I could've waited for mom to finish cooking breakfast, but I was just too excited to see you and give you Bean!" Hange stopped and let his arm go when they reached the door. "After all, Levi, it's been a while since I last saw you."

He frowned, not meeting her eyes. "Tell me about it."

Hange leaned closer and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Fortunately, Levi was alert enough to move his arm away to keep her from squishing the plant and hurting them in the process.

"I know we said no hugging, but," she paused and let out a contented sigh, "I miss you."

Levi allowed himself to bask in the warmth that he missed since the last time they were this close.

"...Same here."

* * *

After breakfast at the Ackermans, meeting Mikasa and playing a bit with Zoe ("See, four eyes, she looks like you," Levi told her), the pair went out for a walk around the neighbourhood. The last time they did that was when they were eight, when Hange made it her responsibility to help Levi familiarize himself with his surroundings. It took them three Saturdays to explore the place, and took him two weeks to find his way around the streets.

They weren't eight anymore, and Hange didn't hold his hand anymore as they walked side by side. In fact, his hands were safe inside the pocket of his sweater, and Hange's hands were anywhere but her side, as she animatedly rambled about their latest lessons and adventures in her major classes, and the people she was surrounded with. She talked about this really decent blockmate who shared the same passion as she did in learning, much to her delight (and to Levi's hidden jealousy), so she never really got bored despite being by herself in university. She also talked about her roommate who seemed like she was brooding all the time, but she turned out to be quite nice. Sometimes she would even help her arrange her stuff inside their room, and when she brought Sawney and Bean home, her roommate would sometimes move the plants where the sun was shining. She also talked about the one time she met Erwin when she went out to buy some snacks at the nearest supermarket from her school (Levi frowned). Erwin went to the university not so far from where Hange studied, and was a Philosophy major. She told him it was nice seeing him again, and that they've yet to go out for some coffee (this time, Levi scowled). Hange even flashed him a cheeky grin as she apologized for not telling him about Erwin over their phone calls and messaging ("I thought you hated him so much so I had no idea if I should tell you about it or not," she explained). In the midst of her storytelling, Levi realized how much he missed hearing how her voice sounded like in person. The only time she went back home last year was during their winter break, so he really hadn't seen or heard much from her in the flesh even that time. Hange and her family were scheduled to fly somewhere for vacation, and she only dropped by to give him his birthday and holiday presents (either Hange really loved giving gifts or his friends were just stingy people for giving him just one present during his birthday). She told him she'd only be staying around the area this weekend, and would leave early in the morning come Monday.

"You know, I really missed walking around the neighbourhood and seeing familiar faces. Life in the university can be pretty lonely, too." Her tone became wistful including her smile. "I mean, it's really great being surrounded by new people and people who share the same sentiments and passion as you do, but at the end of the day, when you're in the safety of your dorm room, nothing really beats home."

Levi glanced at Hange and saw the longing etched in her eyes. Two years living by herself inside campus must be more difficult than he thought.

"But then I have my scholarship to think about, so in my head, I always tell myself that I can't screw things up and ruin my chances of graduating on time." She continued, sighing. "You know, our high school teachers were right when they told us about college being cutthroat and all, since students from all over converge into one institution in the hopes of besting each other out. Lots of the students I come across with in my classes are really smart, Levi. Sometimes I'm not sure if I can even be of equal footing against them. Did you know, one time after a long day of lab work, I ran to an open field not far from the dorms and just started crying because I thought I couldn't handle the pressure of staying afloat in the sea of smart students?" She let out a humourless chuckle. "That was gold. I never thought I could cry that much."

It was rare of Hange to openly express her insecurities. For the most part, Hange was already pretty sure of herself. Her parents were very supportive of her endeavours no matter how absurd some of it might be, and she was constantly regarded by their instructors in high school because of her intellect. But in those moments when Levi felt that something was odd, when Hange was suddenly struck by feeling little of herself, he wanted to make sure that the young lady be reminded of how great she was in spite of her idiosyncrasies that could easily be misunderstood by some.

So he would subtly reassure her that she was smart, that she could do it, and if she ever failed, she could still try again. Levi's encouragements would range from "I've seen you work hard," to "there are things you can't foresee, but now that you know the possibility, you can do something about it," and from the way her eyes would light up and the corners of her lips would tug upwards, he could tell it worked.

But this time was different. Hange had been living by herself for two years now, and had only been occasionally visiting her family whenever her scheduled permitted her. And while making friends with her came naturally, Levi doubted she'd even be as open as she was to him, or any of her long time friends, to the new people she met over college. Levi even doubted she would be so raw to her roommate despite their seemingly friendly arrangement. He felt really bad and sorry that he couldn't be there in those trying times of her college life so far. He could always go and visit, like he always considered, but with the arrangement they have right now at home, he doubted he could even leave the house unattended until Mikasa was old enough to be left alone (and for Levi, being old enough to be left alone meant she had to be in her teen years). He could've brought Mikasa with him, but it might be stressful for the little girl having to travel by commute from daycare to Hange's university, then back to their house. So really, the only thing he could do for now was to keep in touch via phone calls and messaging.

Hearing her story, Levi knew any words of comfort wouldn't do much to appease her. For all he knew, she really made a point to visit this weekend just because she wanted to be here again. Out of loneliness, perhaps.

He reached out a hand and lightly patted her shoulder, catching her by surprise. She flashed him a puzzled look.

"I'm... sorry, I couldn't be there." He said simply.

Hange simply placed her hand on his and squeezed it, smiling. "You don't have to be sorry, Levi. I managed, did I?" And she chuckled as if everything was blissfully fine. "Aren't you proud of me?"

Levi snorted and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. It was only around Hange that he could let himself smile even for a little bit. He removed his hand from her hold and raised both hands to pinch her cheeks until it was pink and Hange was mumbling something incoherently.

"That's already a given."


	13. Twenty-Two (Part 1) - Visits

I am so sorry for the long wait. Life's been rolling pretty fast, and our net couldn't keep up, but we have a better service provider now so yay! Thank you for still sticking with this story even if I sporadically update it u_u

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen: Twenty Two (Part 1) – Visits**

Levi stood up from his seat on the table to answer the door. Judging from the incessant ringing of the doorbell, Hange had arrived _finally_. He told him to drop by at their place around eight in the morning, but lo and behold, the young lady was almost thirty minutes late. He fixed his glare and frown before opening the door to greet her.

Hange and Levi had agreed to work on their papers together this weekend at the Ackermans. Hange's schedule was a bit freer compared to last year with only her thesis to work on, so she got to visit more often, sometimes surprising Levi and his friends by dropping by in their campus (Levi found out that the reason why she'd only been coming home during winter breaks was to take advanced classes to clear up her graduating year from other subjects). They were going to meet somewhere else, but since Kenny wouldn't be back for three days and Mikasa couldn't be left on her own, the pair had agreed to do their schoolwork here instead. He had Hange at free food.

Moreover, he really couldn't leave the house on its own because Mikasa had some friends over. Again. But it was only Eren and Armin this time.

Levi opened the door and was greeted by Hange, grinning cheekily, books cradled in her arms.

"Sorry, I'm late." She said, shoving Levi aside with her body as she entered, "I brought us extra snacks and I had to make something for Ezra and my dad for lunch since mom is out." Hange plopped her stuff on the couch and started rearranging the furniture to suit their setup. "Oh yeah, where are the kids you said we'll be looking out for?"

The young man nodded his head to the direction of the dining room where Mikasa and her friends were currently munching on their breakfast. Hange fixed the coffee table the final time before standing up and ambling to the kitchen to greet the kids. Levi followed suit, arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his face.

"Hello, kiddos!" Hange greeted cheerily as she sat on the empty chair at the table. "My name is Hange, and I'm that grumpy man's best friend!" she said, pointing at Levi by the entrance of the dining room. "Except for Mikasa, I haven't met you two." She said, smiling at the two boys seated across Mikasa.

The brunet straightened in his seat and grins, bread crumbs decorating the corners of his mouth. "I'm Eren!" he squeaked, placing his half-eaten breakfast sandwich on the plate before pointing at the boy beside him. "And this is Armin." Said boy smiled shyly behind his sandwich.

She reached up for the heads of the two kids and ruffled them with much force than needed. Levi frowned when her shirt nearly touched the plate of fried potatoes placed in the middle of the table. Mikasa only watched in slight amusement as she saw Eren and Armin chuckle at the touch.

Hange settled on her seat again and smiled at the little girl beside her. "You have such cute friends, Mikasa."

Levi walked closer the dining table and rested both his hands on Mikasa's chair. "When you kids are done eating, just place your empty plates on the sink and call me so _we_ ," Levi emphasized the word as he shot a stern look at Hange, "can wash the dishes after, alright? We'll be at the living room."

All three kids nodded as they finished the remainder of their food. Hange pouted and stuck her tongue out at him. Levi snorted. "Yeah, Hange, very mature."

* * *

Levi left the curtains of the glass doors open so that they could check on the three kids every now and then without having to stand up from their position and opening said door. Mikasa, Eren, and Armin were now at the back, playing with Zoe, their childish shrieks and giggles drifting from the outside. Hange was pretty absorbed with her paper, Levi couldn't help but notice. Her nose was scrunched, she could almost lick the dusty screen of her laptop the way her head was titled so near to it as she typed, and the perpetual smile on her face was replaced with only a thin line. Even in such state, Hange retained how animated she was, fascinating the young man.

He looked at the bunch of readings on his left side, all of it essential to his final college project of building a human powered vehicle. As of what kind of vehicle it was, he still had to decide himself, but right now, he needed to read on some research about machines, different chassis, and ergonomics (he learned that he had a love-hate relationship with ergonomics). In between boring data and some interesting facts, Levi stole some quick sketches of his project and had produced about twenty designs that he only interchangeably used.

"Levi! Hange!" Eren yelled as he and Mikasa entered from the back. Levi could smell the sun in their skins as they went to his side.

He looked up, but Hange was the first one to speak. "Did something happen?"

"Armin hit his head on the fence, and now it's bleeding." Mikasa calmly reported, breath a little shaky probably from shock and from all the running they were doing outside.

Levi's hand immediately reached for the bridge of his nose as he felt a headache coming up. Just what the hell was going on that they didn't see that this kid managed to run and slam on the fence? He stood up and made his way to the back, strides a little wider than usual, with Hange following closely behind with a jog. He could also hear the footfalls of the little kids running after them.

"Armin?" he called out the moment he stepped outside as he searched for the young boy. Levi spotted him kneeling on the grass with Zoe sitting beside him.

The young boy looked up from his position, revealing his bloodied forehead, tear-stained cheeks, and big watery eyes that threatened to spill more tears if anybody said anything wrong. The kid was a bloody mess, literally and figuratively, that Levi couldn't find it in his heart to speak or he might hurt the kid even more.

That was when Hange sped from behind him, concern etched on her face as she kneeled in front of Armin. "Oh dear, you are a mess. Can you stand up?"

Armin let out a choked sob before nodding slowly. "But my head hurts and everything spins when I try to."

* * *

Hange told him Armin was having a concussion. The boy ended up resting on Levi's bed in the meantime with Hange, Mikasa, and Eren checking on him from time to time. He supposed his bed was too big for Armin, but there was no way was he going to let him sleep on Mikasa's bed. Actually, no boy would _ever_ sleep on Mikasa's bed under his watch whether the boy was still a kid.

"Does it still hurt?" Hange asked as she sat on the edge of Levi's bed.

He placed a plate of cookies and a glass of milk on his desk for Armin. He'd worry about the crumbs on his bed later.

Armin opened his eyes and nodded. A bit of blood escaped the gauze on his forehead and had dried already. Levi had called his grandfather about the accident and the old man was now on his way to pick up his grandchild to have his wound checked.

"Your grandpa's on his way to bring you to the doctor." Levi informed him.

The young boy frowned. "But I don't like going to the hospital."

"Oh, but honey, you have to," the young lady said as she carefully swept off some of Armin's bangs from his face, "just in case you need more than just a gauze and a little rest."

"But the doctor might give me injections. I don't like injections."

Hange's chuckle flitted across the room. "I'm pretty sure the doctor won't. They won't stitch you up either. C'mon now, Armin, a short visit to the doctor might help. I know what'll cheer you up," she said as she scooted closer to the boy and leaned until her lips touched the gauze, a few inches off center. "There, kisses will always make you feel better. Do you feel any better?"

The boy, visibly red and embarrassed at the gesture, timidly met the young lady's eyes as he hid half of his face under the covers and nodded.

All the while, Levi was just watching the exchange unfold in amusement.

* * *

"Hey short stuff, how are you?"

Levi groggily opened his eyes at the sound of Hange's voice, but he didn't move under the covers. He was honestly too sick to deal with anyone even with his long time friend since eight. Besides, the cheery tone didn't lift his sucky mood. He just wanted to be left alone until the colds, the coughs, and the fever were gone.

"Kenny told me about how sick you were."

This was the second day he'd been sick. He missed six hours of his major subjects all because of a flipping flu he had no idea where he acquired. It must be the air getting cooler or the fact that he hadn't been sleeping much because of projects, but whatever caused this to him should go and disappear. He honestly thought it would be over by yesterday, but just this morning, his whole body felt so heavy and his head threatened to explode. His nose was pretty clogged, too, and he sounded funny when he talked.

"Mikasa's dead worried downstairs about you."

Levi shifted on his bed and adjusted his blanket to cover his entire head. He seriously just wanted to sleep the entire day until this whole ordeal was over.

Levi learned that he wasn't as healthy as he believed himself to be. Otherwise, he wouldn't be on his bed, curled to a fetal position, with a grand headache coming. He should really try drinking those supplements he saw Kenny take everyday.

One side of his bed dipped. "Hey, Levi," she whispered, "I'm here."

Well, duh, of course he knew, _felt_ , she was here. She'd been talking since she opened the door, and now she was sitting on his bed. The young man decided to cut pretending to sleep and entertain his guest. He tossed on his bed, groaning as he removed the blanket covering his head and twisted his body to face Hange.

"Please tell me you're not here to bother me." He mumbled as he covered his eyes with his arm.

The young lady grabbed his arm and carefully lifted it off his face. "I'm not here to bother you. I just want to see how you're doing."

Levi grunted as he stretched on his bed. "Shitty," he whispered curtly. "Don't you have classes or anything? Shouldn't you be in school?"

She sighed and let go of his arm. "Well, this whole week we have nothing but research work so I decided to go home just for today. I have Moblit to text me if anything comes up while I'm here, anyway, so all's well. You see, I've been calling you for an hour now, but you're not picking up so I called your home phone and Kenny told me everything." She paused to take a breath. "What have you been doing to yourself, young man?"

Said young man rolled his eyes and turned the other way. "That's rich coming from you."

A sigh escaped Hange's lips. "I haven't been down with the flu, you know. I've been sick, but not this sick."

"So I guess what they say about idiots not getting sick is true?"

"Haha, Levi, very funny."

He rolled back to face Hange again, this time a little more awake than earlier. "So why exactly are you here?"

She motioned for him to scoot a little to the other side as she began to spread herself on the empty side of his bed until she laid completely on her stomach. "I never forget to brush my teeth now, so delight in that." She teased him, smirking. She even blew slightly to his nose to prove her point.

"What the hell, Hange. That was unnecess—" but before he could even finish his sentence, he went on a coughing fit.

Hange reached out for his back, patting it lightly. When the coughing subsided, he straightened himself on the bed, laid on his side, and made sure he was an arm away from her. "I'm sorry about that."

The young lady only snickered. "You look so helpless."

"You don't have to remind me," he muttered under his breath as he reached for his blanket to cover his torso. "Anyway, why are you here again?"

A small smile was painted on her lips. "I need to tell you something."

"Tell me what?"

"Remember the scholarship I was telling you about way back? They finally mailed me the results of my application and well, I passed the test." Her smile then turned upside down and she sighed sadly.

Levi shot her a confused look. "So why are you making that ugly face if you aced the test?"

Hange sighed the second time. "Levi, don't you get it? It means I'm leaving this place. _Again_. And this time, since it's even farther from where I study now, it may mean I won't be able to return to this place even once until the whole year passes."

His eyes widened slightly in sudden realization. That meant another year of this kind of setup, another year of living by herself, another year of adjustment to a new environment, another yea—

"Levi?"

His train of thought was halted by the sound of his name. His eyes refocused on the young girl laying beside him.

Hange's eyes trained south. "Do you think I should go for it?"

"Why would you ask me?" he found this really dumbfounding.

Their eyes met again. For the briefest of moments, they remained quiet before Hange opened her mouth and broke their staring game (though Levi thought gazing was more appropriate).

" _Because you're important to me._ "

The young man let those words sink in, burn in the recesses of his mind, and repeat in his ears as his gaze never left the now embarrassed Hange with her now shifty eyes.

" _You're important to me, too,_ " was what he wanted to say, but he reached out for her hand and held it close to his chest instead, so close he swore she probably felt the pounding of his heart from his shirt. Levi didn't lift it higher so that he could kiss the back of her hand. They agreed about no kissing, anyway.

For now, he'd have to settle with this. They still had so much to do. She still had _so much_ to do.

"It's only for a year, right?" He managed to say, willing for his voice not to crack.

* * *

How long had Kenny been coming in and out of the hospital without telling him anything?

Levi was furious that his uncle had been keeping him in the dark about certain things, especially concerning his health. With the demands of his work taking its toll on his body (and time with the family), and coupling it with his drinking habits (the old man drank his whiskey like it was a substitute to good old water), this shouldn't have surprised Levi at all, but it still made him mad that something as important as this was kept a secret from him.

While on a cleaning spree one weekend, he decided to clean the drawers in the living room, where he spotted a blank envelope on top of the other trinkets inside. He wasn't really going to read it until the paper inside accidentally fell to the floor. When he picked it up, he managed to make out medical terms he had no idea what meant, but knew little about, thanks to Hange and her box of trivia.

From what his limited knowledge could decipher, the results printed on the paper stated that Kenny's liver was beginning to give up on him. Not yet dire, but about to be if his uncle wouldn't get his act together and started being mindful of his own health, and what was left of his family, too.

Overcome by frustration and disbelief, Levi left his cleaning implements scattered in the living room and readied himself for a trip down to Kenny's office.

He really intended to slam the door close to get his uncle's attention. Kenny _must_ tell him everything. Otherwise, he'd have to thrash his office in a fit of rage or something. He strode towards his uncle's desk.

"Why the long face, kid?" his uncle greeted without really looking up from the storyboard he was checking. "It's a surprise you decided to come to my office after a long time. I'm pretty sure some of the staff who are still here and know you missed you loads. Did you greet any of them along the way?"

"What does this mean, Kenny?" he went straight to business, throwing the envelope he found in the middle of cleaning the house. "How long have you been visiting the doctors without telling me?"

Kenny was taken aback, but was quick to recover from his initial shock. He grabbed the envelope and nonchalantly placed it inside one of his desk drawers. "So you've found out, huh. That's pretty impressive; I never knew you'd be smart enough to understand what those numbers and terms meant."

Levi wasn't having any of this detours. "How bad is your liver now?"

The old man flashed him a stern look before clearing his desk and reclining on his swivel chair. "Look, even if I tell you, it's not like you can do anything to improve it. I'm getting older, Levi. It's part of aging."

"No!" he enthused. "You haven't been taking care of yourself with all the ridiculous schedules you and your team have been making. We even rarely see you home nowadays, Kenny."

Kenny scoffed as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from one end of his desk and poured some on his empty glass, almost filling half of it. "Aren't you a cocky one? Look runt, I don't think I have to remind you that you're not supposed to speak to your uncle that way."

As the older man was about to drink from the glass, Levi's hands reached out for the alcohol and slammed it from his hand, causing the glass to hit the wall and break into pieces and a good amount of whiskey spilling generously on the floor.

"Levi!" Kenny glared as his voice rose.

But the young man was too clouded by his anger to hear his uncle.

"I don't think I have to remind you about the state of your liver, _Kenny_. If you persist with this kind of lifestyle, you'd be dead pretty soon. You'd leave _us_. Have you _ever_ considered that or do you only ever think about doing so much work that it's okay for you to kill yourself _slowly_ in this manner? What about _us_? Mikasa's pretty young, too. You adopted her without giving much thought, but where are—"

Levi didn't anticipate getting a little friendly with his uncle's hand as it flew straight to his cheek, causing him to stumble and land on his side. Despite his age, Kenny was still just as strong as he could remember the first time he did something that angered the old man. His cheek was going to sting and swell for a while.

"Look, _Levi._ Before you go spewing a shit ton of bullcrap at me, hear me out. So I have a bad liver? Big deal, but at some point in our sorry lives, we're going to get ill anyway. I may or may not recover, but that's how life is: cruel, unforgiving, and a bitch. And don't go telling me _I_ don't think about you or Mikasa because the very reason why I'm working my fucking arse off is to give you a better life than I ever had growing up. We're not fucking rich and dandy before, kid, and you know that, but thanks to this job, we have a house you can't help but obsess cleaning about, you're now about to graduate college, and Mikasa got in a good school for first grade. You little shit, I'm doing all this—bearing all this—because of _you two Ackerman brats_. I never did once not think about you." Kenny vented with voice dripping with enough poison to kill Levi in a pool of his own words.

Levi sighed in exasperation. "Then why didn't you tell me? At least you could've told me. _I could've done something_."

"Tch, really kid?" the old man cackled humourlessly. "Believe me, Levi; there's nothing you could've done. This would've happened anyway."

The young lad could feel tears stinging the corners of his eyes as his anger was beginning to ebb.

Kenny sighed as he once again sat on his chair. "Now, get lost and don't forget to pick Mikasa up from the Jaegers."

* * *

And it'll all be pretty dramatic from here.


	14. Twenty-Two (Part 2) - Rollercoaster

**Chapter Fourteen: Twenty Two (Part 2) – Rollercoaster**

With graduating year nearing conclusion, Levi hardly had any time for himself. Once he got out of school from advising, he'd immediately head home to start typing his paper, editing and revising the nitty gritty details that his professor pointed out during their consultation periods. Sometimes he'd spend about an hour around campus when Nanaba told him so, but other than that, Levi was pretty much only going in and out of the university and the neighbourhood where he grew up. Anyone hardly heard anything from him.

During his less busy days, he'd check on his uncle at work, making sure he ate on time and drank his meds or even saw the doctor. Kenny jokingly told him he'd make a better mother than he'd ever be a dad someday, to which the young lad only replied with a snort.

When Armin's grandfather heard about his current situation, the old man was kind enough to volunteer picking up Mikasa along with his grandson after school, and looking after them at his flower shop while Levi carried on with his thesis work. This usually happened if he was suddenly stuck with research work at school, and could not attend to Mikasa as soon as possible. The old man would just alert him via SMS to let him know that he could just pick Mikasa up at the shop. Levi swore this man was a godsend.

Mikasa wasn't a pain in the arse, thankfully. She was growing up quite well, and quite responsibly for someone her age. She had started grade school not so long ago, and had been consistently at the top of her class. Levi never really had that much problem handling his cousin because she did what she was told to: don't go out of the school with anyone else unless it was him or Mr. Arlert who would pick her up, do your homework first before doing something else, clean as you go—Mikasa followed them all like the well-behaved kid that she was. And even though there were times when she seemed to be a little crankier than usual (when Eren got mad at her for "trying to help" in particular), she wasn't so hard to appease. A plate of her favourite macaroni and cheese, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice would do the trick. She was still a kid, after all.

As for his friendship with Hange, the young lady was pretty busy with university work, too. With a standing to keep, and papers to write as well, both of them had little to no time for each other. Sometimes Hange would send photos from her phone, usually photos of anything small—small black kittens, her school pet Leevi, small grumpy kids, the list goes on—with a message attached on it. _"Hey, I saw this and I remembered you!"_ Normally he'd reply with much venom for making fun of his (lack of) height, but he'd just scoff at the images and shake his head.

He missed how things used to be so breezy before. At the moment, he was fighting for his life in university, being a surrogate father to his cousin because his uncle wasn't faring so well in the health department and was aging fast, and trying to keep himself intact until this whole ordeal was over, when he could finally burn all his readings because he didn't need those anymore once he received his diploma. Seriously though, Levi entertained that thought a number of times already.

Until then, all his college readings were stacked neatly inside one of the drawers in his room.

* * *

Levi and Mikasa just got home before the sun completely set. His adviser held him a little longer this time, checking to see if his working prototype did live up to its being a working prototype. He also had to make little changes with some of the gears, something he couldn't do at home because he didn't have the space or tools he needed. Mr. Arlert was just really kind enough to close a little later than his usual time to wait for him. Levi mentally noted to get the old man a prize or something on his birthday.

The pair went straight to the kitchen, Mikasa setting up the table for them, and Levi rummaging for some ingredients inside the fridge and the cupboards. He had planned on cooking mushroom omelette for dinner, something quick to prepare and filling enough for both of them, while on commute. Besides, Mikasa wasn't a picky eater anyway, so feeding her wasn't so troublesome.

He could feel his cousin's eyes boring behind his back as he heated the mushrooms he chopped a few seconds ago while he left the eggs cooking on another pan, but it wasn't the kind that made him shiver or feel uneasy. Even without looking, he could tell she was just watching him, probably out of curiosity or hunger because he forgot to pack her some snacks she could munch on while waiting for him. He wasn't going to tell her, but he heard her stomach rumble as they sat beside each other in the bus even if she didn't complain about her state.

Levi heard one of the chairs skid noisily on the kitchen's tiled floor from behind him, followed by the light footsteps of Mikasa, each step increasing in volume as she ambled towards him, and stood beside him, tiptoeing as she placed her tiny fingers on the counter beside the stove. The young lad glanced at the little girl, the corners of his lips tugged slightly up as he hummed.

"Levi?" the kid began, her round eyes mirroring the concern in her voice. "Are you tired?"

He stopped.

"You fell asleep in the bus again."

Levi huffed as he proceeded to turn off the stove and plating the omelettes. "What do you mean I fell asleep on the bus _again_?"

"Today's the third time. I had to wake you up this time or we'd miss our stop."

He looked at his cousin this time, and saw how her eyes searched for any confirmation that what she was telling him was true. Mikasa wasn't a smiley kid like her friends, Eren and Armin, but her poker face actually told so much. At least to Levi it did.

He motioned for her to take her seat, nodding his head to the direction of the table in the dining room, as he brought their dinner. They sat opposite each other, Mikasa's legs dangling and swinging from her seat, while Levi's feet was crossed on the floor. Dinner in the Ackerman household was mostly a quiet affair, but without Kenny prodding them with questions to get them talking (like how normal family dinners went, the old man said once), it was quieter, almost tensed and thick and choking. The soft clanging of silverware on ceramic, and Mikasa's hum of appreciation were the only things that could be heard.

They stayed in the living room as Levi helped Mikasa with her homework. His cousin only asked him for help whenever she found an item hard to understand, but other than that, it was also another quiet affair. Levi sighed.

These were the same things Kenny did with him when he was a kid, and were also the same things he engaged in with Mikasa. Between the two of them, Levi knew he was a better teacher, but the old man was entertaining, at least. In the number of times he studied by the dining room because it was quieter with just his presence, he would manage to sneak a look at Kenny and Mikasa studying by the living room. The old man had his laptop opened and resting on the coffee table as he looked over to Mikasa while she worked on her worksheets. His answers to her queries weren't always what the textbook said, but it made Mikasa chuckle in amusement, something he knew he couldn't do, because while he was quick-witted, Levi wasn't really someone even he himself would consider entertaining.

He was awoken from his thoughts by Mikasa's hand on his forearm, light and almost clammy. The young girl was wearing the same expression she had back in the kitchen, when she asked him if he was tired. He couldn't resist how cute his cousin looked like so Levi reached out a hand to ruffle her hair. Mikasa smiled slightly, before letting go and going back to writing.

* * *

"It's time for bed, Mikasa." Levi said as he stood up from the couch, leaving the book he was reading on it as he nudged his cousin on the shoulder.

The young girl quickly arranged her stuff on the table, stacking her books and notebook by height, and placed her pencil box on top of the stack of notebooks. She stood up and hurried to the kitchen as Levi followed shortly. Mikasa was already standing on the footstool he used to stand on around her age, toothbrush in one hand. The young lad grabbed the tube of toothpaste from the far end of the counter and gave her just the right amount. Even in this activity, the two remained silent, the bristles of their toothbrushes scratching the surface of their teeth.

Levi proceeded to tuck Mikasa to bed after. The young girl climbed on her bed obediently and lifted the sheets to accommodate herself in. Levi sat on the edge of the bed as he watched his cousin settle. He could feel her tiny feet wiggling under the covers, something he also did when he found his covers comforting.

"Go to sleep now. You need to be up by five." He muttered, allowing himself a ghost of a smile.

Mikasa only stared at him as she laid her head on her fluffy pillow. "You should also go to sleep, too, Levi," she told him blankly, "you're tired."

"Tch, close your eyes and go to sleep now. You're tired yourself." He told her a little firmly as he stood up from the bed.

But the young girl sat on her bed again, frowning. Levi's eyebrow rose in curiosity.

"Levi, I'm sorry."

For the second time that day, Mikasa caused him to stop. "For what?"

Mikasa's frown remained, marring her features. "For making you more tired."

The young lad once again sat on the edge of his cousin's bed, this time a little closer to her. "Don't be silly, kid; you're not making me more tired. You're behaved."

She wasn't having any of this; Mikasa shook her head a little violently, enough to make her a tad dizzy, Levi guessed. "Not that!" she protested. "I'm making you more tired because I still can't go home by myself, or study on my own sometimes, or cook my own food. I can't even be left alone in the house to look after it."

Levi was honestly taken aback by his cousin's sudden outburst. Never had he imagined, nor expected, that Mikasa was capable of such deed, but here they were inside her room, having this talk or whatever this was going on between them.

"I know you're doing this because Kenny isn't always home lately, even if you still have to study and make those big stuff you're making in school, and I'm sorry because I'm making you more tired."

Her ranting was almost convoluted like the mess her face was right now. Big fat tears had escaped her big eyes as she rambled on about how she felt so bad having to be a burden for her cousin, and how frustrated she was at their current state. Snot eventually came dripping, and she just wiped it off with her sheets, not noticing the way Levi's nose crinkled at the action.

Honest to goodness, Mikasa was on point; Levi was tired, so flipping tired he could sleep an entire week if he didn't have insomnia, thanks to the stress that college and life brought him early on. More than the school work and bringing and fetching Mikasa to school, Levi was tired from keeping everything run smoothly. Kenny was trying his hardest in spite of his declining health (which he both respected and hated), and Mikasa was nothing but a kid that he liked because she was generally proper, but trying to fit in to the role that Kenny once had in his cousin's life while keeping himself from drowning in school requirements had him extremely tired with life. With everything.

"Don't hate me, Levi." Mikasa's words reached his ears after his musing, and that was the last straw.

Levi broke. Almost. Not enough to turn him to the same mess his cousin was at the moment.

As uncharacteristic as it was, the young lad scooted closer to wipe the tear stains on his cousin's cheeks with her blanket (he'd have to wash that tomorrow morning after bringing Mikasa to school and before heading for university), the same spot where her tears and snot accumulated, before tugging her a little closer until he felt her short arms clutch on the fabric of his shirt. Her shoulders shook a bit from the sobbing. He wrapped one arm around the little girl, not minding how the front of his shirt was wet with tears in record time.

Levi's unoccupied hand found a spot on her head. "You're right, Mikasa; I'm tired. But I don't hate you."

The little girl didn't look up and didn't stop sobbing. Some time between smoothing her hair and Mikasa hiccuping as her sobbing subsided, his cousin's laboured breathing evened out and her body felt a little heavier than earlier. Mikasa had fallen asleep in the middle of weeping, it seemed.

After making sure that her face was cleaned and she was in deep slumber, Levi proceeded to his own room, closing the door gently behind him as he climbed on his bed. His phone had been sitting on his desk since he changed clothes, so he checked on it before sleeping himself. In between the many messages of Kenny reminding him to lock the doors, do the chores, and to make sure Mikasa's things were fixed for tomorrow, Hange's short, _"Hey short stuff, how are you?"_ caught his eye. He opened the thread and typed his reply.

" _I miss you, four eyes."_

* * *

And so graduation came and passed quickly for Levi. For the first time in a long time, their family was complete once more, and Kenny had taken them out for lunch, just like the old times. Mikasa was given permission to miss school today so that she could attend the event. She was even granted a request to pin a ribbon on him as he received his Latin honours. It was an almost happy event, really. Levi couldn't believe it himself.

After taking obligatory graduation photos with the whole batch, and with his friends (upon Nanaba's insistence, of course), the Ackermans left for some family time. Their lunch was Kenny's way of paying them back, he claimed, and he saw the small smile on Mikasa's face the whole time.

As for Levi, he was just happy college was over. He could care less about finding a job right now. Baby steps, he told himself.

His phone rang in the middle of eating. It was Hange.

"Pick it up, runt. Your girlfriend's calling." Kenny teased before stuffing his mouth with steak.

Levi glared at his uncle like he always did each time he would call Hange his girlfriend. The young lad excused himself and walked outside the small restaurant where his uncle brought them.

" _Hey, Levi!"_ Hange drawled, mirth laced in her tone. _"Congrats on finishing college days before I do."_

He let a smile escape his lips upon hearing the familiar voice on the other end. "Hey. Thanks. But you didn't make it."

" _Oh come on, you know I'm rushing my thesis paper due three days from now. I just got to finish everything but printing a few minutes ago, actually."_

"Then why don't you print it now so that you can say you're finally done?"

" _Well, maybe I want to take some time off to greet you on your special day. Is that so bad?"_

He snorted. "You're just procrastinating."

" _I'm not! I'm just resting. And greeting you."_

"Yeah, right."

" _But aren't you happy right now because of this call? You did text me you missed me a few months ago, which by the way, caught me by surprise because I never thought I'd live to see the day Levi Ackerman would honestly pour out his feelings without wording it differently."_

He was thankful Hange couldn't see the blush that was staining his cheeks right now. "I was _so_ tired that time so my brain was probably dysfunctional when I sent you that."

The young lady snorted then laughed. _"Sure, Levi. I miss you, too. In fact, I miss you so much, that I'll be home as soon as my graduation's over so that I can see your stupid, frowning face again! Well, at least before I leave for more studying_ _ **again**_ _, but let's just leave it for another time. Anyway, I just wanted to say hi and send my congratulations. I'm so proud of you, my little friend."_ She cooed the last line, causing him to scowl. _"Toodles!"_

"Bye, four eyes." He said flatly before ending the call.

Well, he couldn't wait to see the bespectacled lady again.

* * *

Levi was greeted with both familiar and unfamiliar faces when he arrived at the Zoes. He saw Nanaba, Lynne, and Nifa reunited together by the couch, exchanging stories about their college experiences. Oluo was also there, eating quietly near the makeshift buffet table that Mr. Zoe probably set up for tonight's party. Erwin, chiseled god, imposing eyebrows, and Hange's high school crush (Levi frowned), was busy talking with Mike, who now happened to be Nanaba's boyfriend of two years (she really had weird taste when it came to men). There was this one plain-looking guy busy arranging the banner that should've been installed before this whole thing started, aided by two guys telling him directions from where they stood. They weren't a lot, but still, Levi found the place a little crowded.

"Levi! You're here!" it was Nanaba who saw him first, her pretty eyes lighting up at the sight of him.

He acknowledged her greeting with a quirk of his eyebrow and settled on the empty chair beside the sofa, where the rest of their group sat. Lynne and Nifa greeted him warmly, too, telling him how happy they were to see him after a long time. It seemed like the two other girls had kept contact with Hange all this time. He guessed it was only logical, after all those four girls had been through during high school. It did feel a little weird seeing them look older than he remembered. They've all quite grown.

Erwin's eyes met his for the briefest of moments as he scanned the place. The young man had gotten more imposing and taller, if it were even possible. Erwin smiled on his direction, something he returned with a nod. He still didn't like that guy so much, and he still had his trademark eyebrows on. So much had changed, yet his eyebrows remained the same. Levi would've laughed at that thought, but he was really anything but funny.

The person he was searching for had finally emerged from the kitchen, followed by a girl he had no idea who, carrying a tray of God-knows-what and grinning.

"Hello everyone! Thank you for coming to my send-off party!" Hange cheerily announced as she placed the tray of food on the buffet table. "I hope everyone gets along well, okay?" She said, as her eyes found his, a knowing smile on her face.

Levi snorted and crossed his arms on his chest.

* * *

The party was anything but wild, thank the Lord. There was eating (of course, and he found the tray of God-knows-what to be scrumptious, though it could use a little plating to make it look more appetizing) and a bit of small talking (something he still didn't know how to do properly) from everyone. He finally met the guy who mothered Hange so much during college—Moblit, was it?—it almost made him a tad jealous that he was there during the times when the young lass was having trouble in university, and her roommate, Rico, who seemed a little like him, quiet and small. Erwin asked him how he was doing, and tried to talk to him, only to receive one word replies from him. All the while, a stupid amused look was plastered on Erwin's face. If he could only wipe that away with a punch, but hey, he decided to be a good guest tonight, so no jealous fighting. Besides, it seemed to him that Erwin genuinely wanted to be friends with him, and had no interest with Hange. He also fought the urge to sock Mike in the gut when the big guy's nose ghosted on his neck. At least it was fun watching Oluo being teased by the girls when he showed them a picture of Petra, Mikasa's former teacher from preschool, and the girl he was currently courting. Lucky bastard was lucky.

In the midst of merriment, Levi found himself withdrawing from the happy atmosphere and cheery crowd as he stepped out and sat on the usual seat by the porch where he and Hange used to hold their after school sessions together when they were younger. The bench seemed smaller now that he was older (sure he was short, but he did grow, even for a bit), but it still felt like... home. The scent of Mrs. Zoe's homemade cookies wafted through his nostrils as if he was back to the time when they were eight. His mind conjured the fond memory of him and Hange sitting beside each other quietly as they worked on their assignments together, shoulders occasionally touching, and Hange's tiny voice floating each time she hummed a tune. Then she would shake his shoulder to ask him about their Math homework, and he would scoot closer, so close he could smell her shampoo—it was the scent of roses that time—and his arm would cross over hers as he taught her how to solve. Then she would turn her head, a little too close for comfort, but he didn't mind so much when he was eight, and she would reward him with a bright smile that his eight-year-old mind burned in his memory.

Levi was interrupted from his reverie when something cold touched his cheek rather rudely. He almost jumped off his seat at the contact. The young lad's head sharply turned to the direction where he felt the unwelcome touch and was greeted by Hange, holding out a cold drink to him and grinning. His annoyance ebbed a bit.

"Why are you here anyway?" she asked as she waved her hand, signing for him to make room for her.

The young lad moved to his right as Hange squeezed herself in. He grabbed the glass that he was offered earlier and took a sip. Four seasons. As expected from the young lady.

"So, Levi, why are you here? Can't take a jolly atmosphere?" she nudged him with her elbow, but not enough to spill a bit of his drink.

"Just... thinking." He replied curtly as he looked ahead.

"About what?"

He let out a heavy breath. "About how things were."

He felt the young lady shift on her seat as she placed her glass on the floor. "Being sentimental now, are we?"

"Tch. As if you aren't sentimental yourself."

Hange snickered. "And I always thought you're so cool for sentimental shit. Turns out you've quite a big heart, huh? Very soft, too." She whispered as she glanced at him and flashed him one of her rarer, gentler smiles.

Levi tore his eyes away from Hange's as he allowed a wistful smile to carve on his lips. "You're leaving in two days, right?"

"Mhmm," she hummed in confirmation, nodding. "But I've to be honest. In between thesis writing and going to sleep after a long day of research, I've thought about not pursuing the scholarship anymore because it meant I have to be away from home again. I've never been away from home for so long until college came, and as much as it embarrasses me to say this out loud, I'm still not used to living far from home," she paused and sighed, "and this time, I'd have to make new friends. I'm not even sure if there's going to be someone like Moblit in that school."

The young lad frowned. "Moblit, huh? I bet he was such a nice friend."

"Is that jealousy I'm hearing, or are you really complimenting Moblit for doing a splendid job of taking care of me?"

Levi scowled as his hand found her cheek and pushed her head away. "Shut it, four eyes. Who the hell is jealous?"

The young lady chuckled. "You are."

"Am not."

She scoffed. "So I guess it's okay with you if I want Moblit to be my boyfriend, then? I mean, he's nice, and he cares for me a lot, and he shares the same passion that I have for what we both do. He understands me so well, it's not hard to fall in love with him, if you know what I mean?"

At this, the young lad's eyes widened in shock, before his face reverted to its usual scowl. "You wouldn't."

She stuck her tongue out. "I _might_."

"Hey!"

Hange laughed, pointing at Levi as she craned her neck back. "And you said you weren't jealous!"

Levi narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, angling his body so he was once again facing front. His drink had long been sitting on the rails of the porch.

Silence blanketed them like a friend. Hange was humming something he wasn't familiar with as Levi continued to stare at the not so grand view of the street before them. He felt the young lady's head on top of his, the weight making him shrink smaller on his seat.

"Hey, Levi."

"Hmm?"

Hange sighed as she looped her arm loosely and comfortably around his. "Can you wait for me for another year?"

Though he was stricken by her bold move (it had been a long while since she last touched him), Levi's eyes darted on the floor as he steadied his hand before placing it on the arm laced around his, grip tight, but not so tight to bruise in the morning. He swallowed the lump on his throat before speaking.

"Of course." He reassured her, voice solemn.

* * *

I haven't really forgotten about this, I promise. Work had been pretty tight, but we're on vacation for a month, which may help me update most of my stories here that had been put on in hiatus suddenly. I'm really sorry for the long wait, and for those who have been following this story since the beginning, thank you so much for sticking it out. :D


	15. Twenty-Four (Part 1) - Work

**Chapter Fifteen: Twenty Four (Part 1) – Work**

Each time Levi remembered the ordeal that were job applications, he couldn't help but shudder and cry from the inside. He had been employed for almost a year now, much to his relief, but during the first few weeks after graduating and fixing his curriculum vitae (with Kenny's guidance), the young man didn't really think so positively about landing a job that he wanted and compensated well enough for him, his cousin, and Kenny's growing hospital bills. Much as the family didn't discuss it formally, the young man took it upon himself to be the breadwinner this time. And no matter how much his uncle insisted that he could still deliver a kick so powerful on his chest in spite of his health issues, Levi didn't trust the old man so much as to cut himself some slack in applying for numerous positions related to his degree. Two days after receiving his diploma, the young man didn't even allow himself some space to transition slowly to employment. Nanaba and Oluo tried to convince him to join their block's grad celebration by the beach, but he refused. He could leave the celebrating later. Right now, he had some duties to take care of.

His first job interview didn't go as breezily as he hoped it would. The boss misunderstood his stoic expression so much that he even had the nerve to lie in front of his face when he told Levi that he'd drop him a line later in the afternoon to update him if he was hired or not. The boss never returned a call, like he said he would. Kenny had actually warned him of the various ways companies reject applicants, but Levi didn't really think it happened in reality. Why couldn't they just outright tell applicants that they didn't meet their standards instead of giving them false hope? Rude. And to Levi, that was already saying something since it came from him, impolite and blunt.

So the second time his interviewer told him the same line, he was too slow to stop himself when he reacted, scowling and rolling his eyes so openly. At least he was able to keep his sometimes filthy mouth shut this time. Of course, the company never called him back. Companies _never_ called back.

A small manufacturing company that specialized in supplying automobile parts to large companies was incidentally looking for someone knowledgeable enough about motors and chassis, and other automobile whatnots to be head engineer or something. Levi learned that small companies were quite nicer when it came to job applicants—probably because they really needed manpower to keep their businesses alive—and people were warmer, too. It was a bonus that the workplace was situated only a few streets away from Mikasa's school. That way, it'd be easier for him to monitor his cousin.

The day after his interview, the company called him back (finally, not liars), asking him when he wanted to start working for them. Levi was so happy that day that he treated Mikasa and her friends out for some snacks after picking them up from school to bring them back to their house for some project making time. The nine-year-old found the gesture rather odd, but hey, cousin Levi said they could pick any snack that they wanted.

"Do you have any questions, Mr. Ackerman?" his soon-to-be boss, which he remembered was named Dita Ness, asked after the young man handed his signed contract.

Levi paused for a short while, thumb and pointing finger on his cheek. "Ah, there is one."

Mr. Ness smiled good-naturedly. "What is it, son?"

"My uncle doesn't go home frequently due to the nature of his job, and I have a nine-year-old cousin waiting for me everyday to fetch her from school. Is it okay if I pick her up from school at three in the afternoon and let her stay with me in my office for the remainder of my work hours?"

His soon-to-be boss shrugged his shoulders as he checked the signed contract. "I don't see any problem with that. But you just have to make sure that she behaves well, and keeps away from the workshop."

Levi nodded. "I can promise you that," he mumbled as he stood up from the chair and bowed. "Thank you for understanding, Mr. Ness."

* * *

The first few months of joining the labour force was tough even on Levi. The first few weeks changed his even more screwed body clock (thanks to college), and made him a little grumpier than usual. Thankfully, he worked more with machines than with humans, so lashing out on anyone wasn't much of a problem. Mikasa invading a part of his office wasn't much of a problem, too; he'd pick her up from school, sit her on the chair across his desk, and tell her to finish her homework while he finished his reports due for the day. The only time his cousin left the office was to go to the washroom, and that was it.

It was actually surprising what a child in a workplace could do to tired employees. Even though Mikasa wasn't the jolliest brat his colleagues have ever met, this didn't stop them from entertaining the kid each time she arrived with him or walked out of his office. Usually, it was his female colleagues—the ones in the finance and marketing department—that took their turns in keeping Mikasa occupied whenever boredom struck her. Levi didn't mind. In fact, he didn't realize that until he noticed that his cousin wasn't sitting in front of him anymore after he finished typing his reports. For a moment, Levi panicked as he searched for his cousin in the girls' bathroom (with permission from the custodian assigned that day), and found no trace of her. When his feet led him to the small office of the finance and marketing department, he saw Mikasa talking with some of the ladies he wasn't so sure if he knew their names by heart. A sigh of relief escaped his mouth. He excused his cousin and himself for intruding them, to which the ladies graciously replied with, "It doesn't matter."

Over dinner, Mikasa revealed something to him.

"Hey, Levi," the young girl began as she chewed on the sausage he cooked for them, "one of the ladies from the other room asked me if you're single."

He nearly choked on his drink. "What?"

Mikasa swallowed her food first before repeating. "I said one of the ladies from the other room asked me if you're single."

His brows furrowed. "What did you tell her?"

She pouted as she cocked her head on the side. "I told her about Hange."

Levi's eyes widened. "You told her about who?"

The young girl nodded. "They've always wanted to know if you like anyone when they saw you the first time. I don't know why they think that. So when they asked me if you're single, I told them about Hange, and how you always call and text each other, and call each other funny names, and—"

" _Mikasa._ "

His cousin stiffened. "Don't you like Hange?"

The young man pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. So this kid wasn't so slow, huh? "I don't hate her, okay?"

Curiosity was written all over his cousin's face. "But why did you look shocked when I told you I told them about Hange?"

He reached out and wiped the oil that had accumulated on the side of her lips with a napkin as he spoke. "Because Hange and I are not together, that's why. And they don't even know who Hange is."

Mikasa's eyes narrowed as she let her cousin clean her face. "So all this time, Hange is not your girlfriend?"

Levi stopped his wiping and scowled. "No!"

The young girl frowned. "Oh. But Kenny always called her your girlfriend." She shrugged. "I like Hange. She's nice and funny. I hope she becomes your girlfriend."

Well, Levi hoped so, too, but getting involved was in the last of his priorities right now.

"Just... finish eating your dinner, Mikasa."

* * *

Since Mikasa was sleeping over at the Braus' household (aside from the Jaeger kid and Armin, Sasha was the other friend of his cousin that he never forgot easily because this kid clung to him for dear life at the memory of mashed potatoes, plus her hair still reminded him of Hange's, except the girl's was tidier), Levi didn't have to fetch her after school during work hours. His boss seemed to have taken a certain fondness to the little kid like his other colleagues because when he noticed the absence of Mikasa in his office, he wondered loudly where the kid could be. For a child as somber as his cousin, she surely made a following in the manufacturing company.

He went home to a dark and quiet house that evening. Zoe was probably asleep at the back since the dog usually welcomed them home whenever they arrived. Work that day was more tiring than usual since he had to step up when one of the gears of the chassis they were scheduled to deliver by next week didn't seem to work properly. Even his boss had to lend the workers a hand to make sure the chassis was in good shape and ready for shipping. Right now, he felt tired, stinky, and filthy. Levi cringed at the sight of his dirty nails as bits of grease and oil caked the edges of his nails. He couldn't wait to take a nice, hot shower, and trim his nails when he reached his room.

The young man, refreshed and rejuvenated form his trip to the bathroom, was now cooking dinner for one. Admittedly, Levi had gotten used to cooking dinner for a bunch of people that he had to remind himself each time he added ingredients in his concoction that he was serving only himself that night. Come to think of it, it was the first time he'd eaten dinner by himself. He snorted at that thought. The Ackerman household was usually chill, but never this silent, and as out of character as it sounded, loneliness slowly embraced the young man as he waited for his chicken stew for one to cook.

Levi knew he couldn't be left by himself with just his thoughts to keep him company. So he stood up from his chair and turned Kenny's radio on. He settled for the late night radio drama centered around crime and mystery, things his uncle liked listening to, and watching late night TV whenever he was home. With his declining health and his work growing more demanding as the months progressed (because their company managed to hook a big project that was scheduled to be aired next year), Levi and Mikasa hardly saw the old man. It meant going out of his way to see him, which was impossible right now because Kenny was on location.

A humourless smirk appeared on Levi's face. The only family he'd grown used to was slowly slipping away, and it was beginning to affect him as much as he disliked to admit it.

So he drowned his sad thoughts with his chicken stew and late night news—not exactly something to perk him up in the middle of the night, but at least it did its job well. He was so focused in the news that he almost missed the ringing of his phone. Setting aside his bowl on the coffee table and minimizing the volume of the TV, Levi picked up the call.

 _"Hey, short stuff. I miss you."_

Hearing Hange's voice after a long time of not being able to talk to her washed him over with strange comfort. "Hi, Hange." He greeted listlessly.

 _"What's wrong? You sound dejected."_

"Long day at work. That's all."

 _"Must be indeed; you sound so tired. I had a long day at school today, too."_

The young man rolled his eyes as he reclined on the couch to make himself comfortable. "Tell me about it."

 _"Figuratively speaking or literally speaking?"_

"Damn it, four eyes. I'm too tired to even argue with you."

Hange giggled. _"Seems like it. Is something the matter?"_

"Not much, really. Just pure work. And taking care of Mikasa."

He heard her sigh. _"I heard about Kenny from my parents. That's so unfair, Levi; why didn't you tell me?"_

Levi covered his eyes with his arm and sighed. "Would it make any difference if I told you?"

 _"Well, no, but at least I could've provided you with some emotional support or something. How have you been faring, Levi? Aren't you pushing yourself too hard?"_

He scoffed. "Emotional support? Come on, Hange, let's be real: my uncle's slowly dying, and he doesn't even seem to give a damn about that. I have to make sure he gets to visit the doctors when he's told to, but the old man is just plain stubborn. I don't know what to do about him anymore."

 _"Levi, in case you forgot, I'm your best friend."_

"Sure, whatever helps you sleep easy, four eyes."

 _"I mean it. You are. I'm like, the only one who understands the differences between your grunts and groans and hums."_

He allowed himself a smirk. "Keep on dreaming."

 _"Maybe I will. I'm sorry I couldn't be there."_ Her voice suddenly sounded a little somber.

Levi was more affected than he would've wanted. He frowned. "Don't be, Hange. Nobody expected this to happen anyway, and life is cruel, unforgiving, and a bitch," he snorted, "like what Kenny told me."

 _"But it's also a wonderful thing to be alive."_ Hange quickly added, her tone sounding a little happier than it was a minute ago. _"Grad school's about to end for me so I won't be busy for the remaining months until my defense. Hit me up when you can't take it anymore, 'kay, my little sunshine?"_

"Gee, you make it sound like I shit rainbows or something."

 _"Well, don't you?"_ As much as he hated to recognize it, he missed Hange's awful cackling.

 _"Anyway, you really seem so tired, Levi. I guess I'll call you some other time, then. Good ni—"_

"No, Hange, _please_ ," he interrupted quickly.

 _"You said something, Levi?"_

Levi scowled at how he sounded so desperate that moment, but he'd let himself be vulnerable just this night. He was tired, he was alone, and darn it _he was so goddamn lonely—_ pride be damned, and this was Hange: his self-proclaimed best friend who certainly wouldn't mind seeing—no, hearing him like this.

"...Tell me about your day. I want to hear about it."

 _"Did you hit your head or something?"_

He groaned. "Just please... talk to me, Hange."

Her line was silent for a while before the young woman did what she was told to.

Levi fell asleep in the middle of her story, but he knew Hange wouldn't take it against him. She did make him feel a little less lonely that night.

* * *

The young man found his cousin sulking on one of the benches inside the campus with Armin sitting beside her. The young boy stiffened a bit at the sight of him, but eased a little when Levi nodded in greeting. He looked alternately between him and his cousin, then back to him again.

"She and Eren had a fight during project making time in History." The young blond explained.

Out of all of Mikasa's friends, Armin was the most likable just because the boy was quick when it came to sensing his surroundings. So much better than that Jaeger kid who always seemed to make and ruin his cousin's day. Levi frowned as he kneeled in front of his cousin and placed a hand on her knee.

"Look, I'll teach that Eren kid a lesson when I see him tomorrow. Lighten up, okay?"

But he was only rewarded with a heated glare from his cousin. Armin released a nervous chuckle.

"I don't think she'd like that, Levi." The young boy remarked, smiling slightly.

"Well, Eren wouldn't like it either." He deadpanned as he grabbed his cousin's things and stood up. "Where's your grandpa?"

"He told me before going to school that he'll be a little late fetching me, but that's okay. I'll be fine here by myself, Levi. Thanks for asking." Armin politely replied.

Seriously tons better than that Jaeger kid.

* * *

It troubled him the first time he saw Mikasa shedding tears after their heart-wrenching talk when he was still in college, so when he saw his cousin sitting by the window of her room and sobbing, the familiar feeling of his insides being torn came over him once more.

It was a weekend, a day of rest for him, and a day of play for his cousin, but when his cousin didn't wake up early like she always did and helped him prepare breakfast (a little ritual these two formed in the absence of Kenny), he only dismissed it as his cousin deciding to sleep in for the weekend even if something in his gut told him that it might not be the case today. So when Mikasa didn't come down for breakfast, he finished his, cleaned up, and prepared hers. They were supposed to eat waffles topped with whipped cream and strawberries together, just like Mikasa requested the other day, but since she didn't show up at all, Levi decided to bring her share to her room. She was probably up by now.

And she was, but she was crying.

Levi placed the tray he was holding on Mikasa's bed as he sat beside his cousin. Mikasa had her two hands on the cold glass as she stared outside, shoulders shaking, mouth curved to a pout, and eyes leaking fat tears. The scene was so cliché in his head that he would've laughed, but he really didn't want to upset his cousin any more than she was feeling right now.

"Is it about Eren again?"

The young girl nodded. At least this time she was willing to talk.

"He said he doesn't want to see me ever again."

"Is that why you're not bugging me to bring you to the park to play with your friends?" Levi tried to keep himself from scoffing. "But you know that's not possible because you're classmates with him."

Mikasa turned to face him, which broke his heart a tad bit. "But he's mad at me."

He narrowed his eyes. "For what?"

"He said I was always doing things for him like I'm his mom or something, but Eren doesn't know how to do things properly, you see. He can't even draw a straight line without using a ruler."

"Maybe you should get off his case then?"

Mikasa shot him a confused look. "Get off his what?"

Oh yeah. He was talking to a nine-year-old. He shook his head. "I mean, why don't you leave him alone?"

The young girl pouted even more and shook her head, which almost looked so cute to Levi, but he wasn't going to openly say that.

"If I leave him alone, he'd fail."

"Eren's not _that_ stupid, is he? And if he does fail, then it's his fault, not yours."

"But I don't want him to fail." The little girl whined, stomping her foot. Levi would be lying if he didn't say he was taken aback by her behaviour because as far as he knew, they (his uncle for the most part) didn't raise her to be this way. "I want us to still be classmates next year."

This time, the young man didn't keep himself from snickering. "Look, kid. Grade school is more gracious than college, that I'll give you, so you'd probably see Eren's face next year. Besides, he has his parents to help him work on his projects just in case. Give the boy some space." Or he'd be the one _forcing_ them to _have space_. "Besides, why are you so affected by this kid so much?"

If his eyes weren't lying, Levi saw the faintest shade of pink colouring Mikasa's cheeks. A knowing smirk escaped his lips.

He concluded that Ackermans just get attached easily.


	16. Twenty-Four (Part 1 of 2) - Meetings

**Chapter Sixteen: Twenty Four (Part 1 of 2) – Meetings**

"Don't run to the snacks aisle, okay? We're not in a hurry." Levi reminded his cousin as they entered the supermarket.

Mikasa's eyes were as wide as saucers, a small smile grazing her lips. "I won't," she mumbled and nodded. Levi couldn't help but think she was cute. Of course, she'd be cute; she was an Ackerman for crying out loud.

Weekends meant grocery shopping for the Ackermans. Levi used to do it with Hange back in high school (Hange always reasoned she had nothing better to do on weekends, but Levi would like to believe she just wanted allowance on Saturdays and an excuse to leave the house, too), but with college and her scholarship grant separating them, Mikasa became his constant companion. His cousin didn't seem to mind; each time he'd announce their grocery trip, Mikasa would wake up early on weekends, and would sometimes wait for him in the kitchen for breakfast. At least he wouldn't have to worry about leaving her home to go do some errands, especially since Kenny had been mostly gone recently with his crap ton of projects.

Mikasa's hands automatically reached for his as they walked towards the carts. Levi heard her giggle. "What?"

The young girl's eyes trailed anywhere but his. "...Can I also buy some snacks for Eren and Armin?"

Oh, that Eren kid again? Levi's brow rose.

Mikasa looked up at his cousin and pouted. Usually, it was hard to get Levi to do anything just because of sporting cute expressions and begging, but this was his cousin, and Mikasa—as much as it embarrassed him to admit it openly to himself—did it so well. Almost as well as Hange.

The young girl tugged his hand. "Please?"

How the flipping hell could he say no? Levi groaned and rolled his eyes. "Fine."

* * *

They were almost done with grocery shopping save for one thing. As agreed, Mikasa could only buy her snacks after all the essential groceries were taken care of, which was the young girl's favourite part of grocery shopping, Levi guessed. However, this was the least favourite part of his because it had everything to do with his cousin's favourite snack, wonderfully displayed at the highest shelf on the aisle. Levi knew he was short, but this particular section—this particular snack—always made a point to remind him of his shortcomings. Literally.

But what could he do? Mikasa was staring at him, telepathically asking him to reach for a bag of her favourite snack because she couldn't reach it at her age. Well, _darn it_ , even he couldn't reach for a bag _at his flipping age_.

The young man was about to use another shelf to leverage himself up, when a shadow loomed behind them, an amused chuckle reaching his ears. Levi looked behind him and was surprised to see a figment of his high school memory. His eyes narrowed.

It was Erwin _shit-tastic_ Smith.

He hadn't seen him since Hange's send off party, so why should he see him now? Levi reprimanded himself quickly as immaturity was about to consume him as if they were still in high school. But then again, he couldn't really bring himself to smile at Erwin. Heck, he hardly smiled at anyone when they greeted him; he only nodded in return. So Levi nodded in greeting as Erwin returned it with a warm smile. Mikasa only watched their exchange blankly.

"Need assistance for anything?" Erwin asked as he eyed Levi from head to toe.

Of course he'd ask that; Levi was ready to hoist himself up. His foot was already resting on the second level shelf and his hand was already grasping the top shelf. It was _almost_ embarrassing.

The young man sighed and righted himself. He was about to speak when Mikasa walked past him and stopped in front of Erwin, face bright.

"Can you please get me a bag of those chips, mister?" She requested, pointing at said snack.

Erwin grinned at the young girl and humored her request without much test (much to Levi's annoyance). He handed the bag of chips to the young girl, which Mikasa happily accepted. She ran back to the cart, placing her favourite snack inside.

Erwin flashed Levi a curious look. The young man guessed it was his cue to start speaking. "Oh," he whispered, "she's my cousin, Mikasa."

"Oh," Erwin sighed. "For a moment there, I thought she was..."

Levi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I'm not like that."

The other man chuckled. "Of course you're not like that."

* * *

Levi watched as his cousin happily ate her plate of tomato and herb linguine as she alternately munched on her first piece of garlic bread. Erwin must be pretty lonely lately for him to invite them to lunch. But since the Ackermans didn't really have anything grand scheduled for the day, Levi decided to go along with Erwin's whims. He could use some break, too.

"So even you haven't heard much from Hange lately, huh?" Erwin said in between chewing his food. "She must be really busy with her graduate thesis."

Levi nodded as he swallowed. "I guess. It's her final year, after all. The last time we talked, she said the last thing she wanted to do was to extend her studies."

Erwin flashed a knowing smile. "I'm pretty sure you don't want that either."

The young man's brows furrowed and Erwin rolled his eyes.

"Levi, the others might've missed it, but I didn't."

Levi snorted. "Whatever do you mean, _Erwin_?"

"I guess I have to spell it out for you—no. I guess you _want_ me to spell it out for you. You've always liked Hange all this time, haven't you?"

Beads of sweat began to leak from the sides of Levi's head at Erwin's audacity to call out his feelings. Nonetheless, Levi made a point to look composed as he allowed his companion to carry on.

A wry smile was plastered on Erwin's lips. "You and Hange were inseparable in high school, so it wasn't really that difficult to tell that you only have eyes for her. When we bumped into each other during the bazaar, you _yanked_ her away from me. You always had that pissed look on your face whenever she greeted and conversed with me, and the icing on top of the cake was how you ignored her after she agreed to be my prom date. The jealousy reeks so strong it's become hard to make excuses for your actions."

"Tch. You sound so sure, smartass. If you're that observant, then I guess you knew that Hange likes you so f—," Levi paused as he quickly glanced at Mikasa, who was still busy eating her lunch, "...she likes you so much. It was _annoying_."

Erwin chuckled. "I know."

Levi's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Come on, Levi; Hange's not so subtle when it comes to her feelings. You, of all people, should know that."

Levi clenched his fist under the table. "You mean you knew about her feelings _all along_?"

Erwin nodded.

"Tell me something, Erwin. Were you _intentionally_ entertaining Hange all this time because you knew she likes you?"

By the time Mikasa looked up from her plate, the two adults with her were having a staring contest. As far as she could comprehend, they were talking about Hange and her feelings. She cleared her throat, catching the attention of Erwin and Levi. Her face remained blank.

"I didn't know Hange was popular way back. But yeah, I guess it's because she's nice." She commented naively, smiling softly at them.

Levi's eyebrow rose. "Mikasa, what did Kenny and I tell you about butting in conversations that don't concern you?"

Erwin smirked. "Don't scare your cousin; she's right about Hange being nice and all." He faced the young girl and grinned. "That's why these two adults like her a lot." The blond confessed as he alternately pointed to Levi and himself.

Wait, what?

Levi's head snapped in front of him at the surprise confession.

Erwin shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "I wasn't intentionally entertaining Hange because I know she likes me; I was entertaining her because I've grown to like her back."

 _What?_ So Erwin truly was his rival then?

* * *

The ride back home was awfully quiet as a heavy air between Erwin and Levi hung. It was amazing how Mikasa was able to ignore all that and sleep at the back of Erwin's car. The Ackermans ended up hitching a ride home with Erwin after lunch, which was pretty awkward after the great reveal of the year. Levi was stumped at the truth bomb that Erwin had launched unexpectedly, and he had no idea how Erwin must be feeling right now after confessing his hidden feelings towards Hange, though Levi guessed he was probably handling it better than he was.

So it was beginning to make sense to him now. Erwin volunteering to be Hange's partner in their club activities, Erwin's patience with Hange and her silly ideas, and him inviting Hange to prom weren't _just_ because they've become awfully good friends over high school. Who would've thought that his claims would be correct all this time? Actually, that surprised Levi even more than finding out about Erwin's hidden feelings towards the young lady. What were the odds that he wasn't really making things up in his mind?

So his jealousy was properly placed then? Levi still had no idea.

They reached the Ackerman residence after an hour long drive. Levi carefully lifted Mikasa off the backseat and carried her baby-style. Mikasa only murmured and crinkled her nose as he adjusted his hold on her and looked at Erwin.

"You can stay for some afternoon tea, if you want." He invited. It was probably the first time he invited Erwin to something, which was a milestone in their... er, friendship? Rivalry? Whichever fitted the bill, probably?

The blond looked at his watch and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have anything scheduled today, so I guess a cup of tea would be nice."

And so, the rivals in love ended up silently sipping their cups of tea slowly inside the kitchen of Levi's house. The tensed atmosphere began to ebb as a friendly kind of silence befell them. Levi already tucked Mikasa on her bed before serving Erwin some tea, which meant they could finally talk about their feelings in great length without being disrupted or heard. That almost sounded like a sleepover in Levi's head.

It looked like Erwin wasn't the only one who was feeling lonely lately.

"So you like Hange, too, huh?" Levi was the first to crash the wall of silence between them.

Erwin looked up from drinking. "Probably as much as you do."

Levi cocked his head to the side as a curious look marred his usually poker face.

"Hange was a brilliant, wonderful person. It's enthralling each time she talks about plants or even the things she randomly finds out after reading tons of articles online during her free time. She's very smart. I like my women smart." Erwin casually stated after sipping his tea. "It was actually flattering that she likes me as well."

"But," Levi frowned as he turned his cup with his hands repeatedly, "if you were so sure of Hange's feelings back then and you liked her—"

"Why didn't _I_ do anything about it? Is that what you're about to ask?"

The young man met Erwin's eyes and nodded. The blond sighed dejectedly and smiled wistfully.

"I hope you're not playing dumb, Levi."

"I'm not dumb, _Erwin_ , which means I don't know how to even play dumb, as you say."

Erwin shook his head and sighed another time. "So I asked her to be my prom date, right?"

"Wait, what's it got to do with prom?"

"Let me finish first."

Levi grumbled under his breath, but gave Erwin the floor. Erwin cleared his throat.

"I was pretty sure she'd say yes in a heartbeat because I know that she likes me back, but you know what her initial reply was? Hange told me to wait for her reply because _she needed to ask you first if you're okay with it_. And then, there's a second time in college, when we bumped into each other after not seeing each other in person for a long while. We had coffee, we caught up, and everything seemed to be well between us in spite of the distance, so I asked her if she was fine with seeing me on regular basis. I even masked it as a study buddy system, but she said she couldn't commit to it because she was pretty busy with school. The worst part? _She mostly talked about you_ when we did have a talk over coffee."

Levi's brow rose at Erwin's story.

"Levi, I don't even know if she's realized it herself—heck, I don't even know if I'm supposed to be the one telling you this, but," the blond paused to reconsider then shook his head and laughed lightly. "You know what, why don't you just wait for her to say it herself? It'll be more meaningful that way." Erwin said as he rose to his feet. "Besides, I don't want to consume much of your time today."

The young man would've wanted the other man to stay, but he seemed decided to take his leave. So Levi did what a good host would do, and walked Erwin to his car (even though he really didn't have to do that. Actually, he really didn't want to do it anyway, but after today's events, Levi had some sort of change of heart). He waited for Erwin to start the car and drive away for no reason, really. Erwin didn't say much when he left, only a quick goodbye and that small smile of his that Hange went nuts for back when they were teens.

Levi didn't expect that their, relationship, whatever this might be, would grow to something akin to brotherhood in the coming days.

* * *

 _"Levi, my car's parked in front yard already. See you in a bit!"_

"Yes, I'll be down in a few. Bye."

Mikasa watched as her cousin got ready for the event he was supposed to go tonight. While she was pretty bummed that it was another weekend that the Ackermans weren't complete, she was excited to go stay over at Armin's (not Eren's because Levi wouldn't allow her) place for the night. The young girl opened her knapsack once more to check if she had everything packed for tonight's sleepover (including the _shounen manga_ that Armin recommended to her once).

"Hey, Mikasa. Zip your bag; time for us to go." Levi said as he grabbed his wallet and the spare keys to their house from his desk and motioned for her to jump off his bed.

Mikasa followed immediately, keeping pace with him (which wasn't so hard since his strides weren't so long, but of course she wouldn't say it) as they went downstairs.

"Hey, Levi!" Nanaba greeted from her car before turning to the young girl almost trailing behind him and smiling sweetly. "Nice to see you, too, Mikasa! It's been a while."

Mikasa smiled softly at the lady. To Mikasa, Nanaba was the prettiest lady friend of Levi. The nicest, too, next to Hange. And beside her was a man she never met before. He was blond, too. And bearded. And for some reason, that man reminded her of bears. She tried not to giggle at that thought.

"Thank you so much for picking me up. And for dropping Mikasa over at her friend's house, too." Levi said as he opened the door to the backseat of the car.

"Anything for a good friend." Nanaba quickly replied, waving her hand. "Anyway, I hope you remember Mike, Levi."

Oh, so that's the man's name, Mikasa noted as she climbed up the car followed by her cousin. Levi only grunted in response.

"'Evening!" Mike greeted as he craned his neck to their direction.

"Hey." Levi quipped. Mikasa only nodded.

Nanaba started her car's engine shortly after the cousins were inside. "We better get going now because Oluo had been _freaking_ calling me since ten minutes ago inquiring of our whereabouts. As if we're going to ditch his engagement party." She muttered as she maneuvered the car to exit the street.

Levi snorted. "You know how Oluo prides himself to always be on time. Let him worry some more."

Mikasa guessed that some things never really change through time; like Levi's feelings towards Hange, and how much he seemed to like testing Oluo.

* * *

Petra wasn't really bothered by their late arrival because she was pretty chill. Actually, Petra was pretty chill with everything _except Oluo's shenanigans_ , but that was understandable. At least to Levi it was understandable. If there was one thing that Petra and Levi got along with, it was being pretty chill with everything _but_ Oluo. It was a fantastic understanding indeed.

So it really came as a surprise to him—to the whole group—when Oluo broke the news that he proposed to Petra during one of their dates, and she said yes. Maybe that was how love worked?

 _Maybe that was why in spite of everything he still had feelings for Hange?_ Levi wanted to punch himself in the face for even thinking that.

Since when did he become this mushy anyway?

His eyes surveyed Petra's yard. Petra was probably the one who did the nitty gritty decors, while Oluo took care of setting them up. There were paper garlands in different colours and patterns strewn all over the fences of her backyard, and there were tiny, whachamacallit, fairy lights littered all over the place, too. Pretty and dainty, just like the bride-to-be, if Levi might say so.

There were also a few people with them, too. Oluo's friends and family, Petra's friends and family, and the lovesick couple he had no choice but to put up with for the rest of the night. Levi fought the sneer bubbling in his mouth, but he allowed himself to roll his eyes when he manage to catch Nanaba and Mike being all sweet and cuddly like _he wasn't flipping there with them_. The couple stopped with their display when Nanaba's phone rang.

"I hope you're not pulling my leg!" He heard her yell. Beside her, Mike wore a confused look.

"No, really. Don't kid with me, Hange." She said, smirking.

 _Hange?_ Levi's ears didn't miss that.

The door behind them opened as Petra entered, smiling widely. "Hey, guys! Look who made it to the party!"

Levi's head snapped to the direction of the door and his eyes widened when he caught sight of that familiar messy brown hair and bespectacled bright eyes that he hadn't seen for a year.

Hange's face brightened visibly. "Hi, you guys! I'm finally back!"


	17. Twenty-Four (Part 2 of 2) - Meetings

**Chapter Seventeen: Twenty Four (Part 2 of 2) – Meetings**

Levi and Hange left earlier than most of the guests did. For one, Hange just came home that evening and wanted to recharge for a bit, and two, Levi didn't really have much left to do at the party since he really didn't drink nor socialize unless he was being talked to. So he decided to take his leave when Hange announced that she needed to catch up on some rest, which unbeknownst to him, didn't go unnoticed by his friends. Nobody really objected with their decision, so all was well. The commute was unusually quiet, though. He half expected that Hange would ramble like crazy after not seeing him for a long time, but she was probably really tired from her trip. Levi didn't mind much. It also seemed that things between them were still pretty much the same: no awkward atmosphere following them around, and Hange would often look at him and smile each time their eyes would meet. _Like a bloody lovestruck teen_.

 _"Levi, I don't even know if she's realized it herself—heck, I don't even know if I'm supposed to be the one telling you this, but..."_

Levi huffed. "The hell's up with you, four eyes?"

Hange only snickered. "Yeah, I miss you, too, Levi. It was kinda sad I didn't have someone like you or Moblit around during the whole school year. Everyone was so serious and strict that I think I lost my funny bone for some time."

"Tch."

"I'm not exaggerating; these are excellent individuals that have spent most of their life dedicated to their craft. Their passion inspired and excited me. But meh, all of them were too serious." She continued. "Some were good-looking, but too serious for my liking."

"So you were actually checking your classmates out, huh? I'm surprised you have that side of you." Levi teased.

The young lady rolled her eyes. "That's so rude of you. What's the purpose of my glasses for if not to see the beauty around me clearly?"

"Oh? And here I am, thinking all this time that you're only here because it's an unspoken rule to have at least one bespectacled character in the story. So your glasses aren't just for show, huh?"

"Yes, yes, very funny, Levi. I'm in stitches." Hange crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Kidding aside, aren't you glad I'm back for good now?" She grinned.

The young man only responded with a blank look as he crossed his arms over his chest, too, before looking away. "You could've at least told me you'd be back today."

"Aww, is wittle Wevi pained that his best fwiend in the world didn't give him a heads up?" Hange mocked, raising her tone a little higher than usual. "Can't take a surprise?"

"I could've helped you with your stuff or something." He muttered, frowning.

The bespectacled woman fondly ruffled his hair. "It's okay; my dad picked me up at the station. Don't worry your little head. Plus, don't you have Mikasa to look after?"

Levi allowed himself to relax as Hange comfortably rested her hand on his head. If it were somewhere else, he might've probably socked them in the kisser, but this was Hange. Even if he did just that, it wouldn't have any effect. So he let her do as she pleased. The feeling wasn't so bad, you know.

"Hey, Levi."

"Hm?"

"I know I said I'm tired from earlier, but I don't feel like coming home yet." He felt her shuffle in her seat as she angled her body towards him. "How about we talk some more at the park where we first met?"

* * *

The air was chilly that evening, but both adults kept their hands to themselves. Levi purposedly placed his inside the pocket of his coat, while Hange wrapped her arms around her body. Levi checked her every now and then if she was shivering, but it seemed like her coat was enough to shield her from the evening breeze. As much as he wanted to, Levi didn't think he could offer her his jacket since she was taller, and wrapping her in his embrace was _totally_ out of the question.

Levi noticed that they kept quite a distance, too. It almost seemed as if they were two high schoolers who had mutual feelings for each other, and were weighing the circumstances whether they'd do something forward to take a step ahead in their budding relationship. The young man wanted to gag at the cheesiness of that thought. Suddenly he was beginning to sound like he was a character from some _shoujo manga_.

Seriously, though. When did he become mushy?

The park was well lit even at night. He wondered if they could still fit inside the swings after not coming back to this place for a long time. Well, he wondered why of all the places that they could talk, she had chosen the park. What about her (no, _their_ ) secret places? Ah, but last time he checked, most of their secret places have either been converted to smaller parks and residential units. He still had to break the news to Hange, but maybe some other time.

Hange picked up her pace when they were about twenty steps away from the park. He watched as she quickly sat on one of the swings and pushed herself in motion. Levi picked the swing beside it and moved himself a bit. All that could be heard was the creaking of the chains of Hange's swing and the sole of her shoes as it screeched on the dusty ground with every move.

"You know; we could've waited for the next day if we're just going to play here. It's way safer, too." Levi mumbled as he watched the young lady swing back and forth.

Hange didn't reply immediately. She just quickly glanced at him and smiled. The young man just shrugged his shoulders and stared ahead.

Just what was this woman up to? She said she wanted to talk, but about what? And why weren't they even talking right now? What was this? Some ploy to test the limits of her curfew or something (not that Hange had one)?

Levi was roused from his thoughts when he heard soles skidding on the dusty ground. He turned to his companion and saw Hange slouching on the swing as she sighed tiredly.

"I miss this place so much," she whispered softly, almost inaudibly. "It's been a long time, but it's comforting to find that I still fit the swings perfectly."

For the first time in such a long time, Levi felt the familiar somersaulting of his insides that he thought had gone with age when Hange smiled at him. It wasn't even a pretty one, like most dainty girls could pull off, but my goodness it did wonders in his tired spirit.

"Yeah," he whispered, pausing to swallow, "it's been a while."

But what he really meant was it had been a while since he last saw Hange's goofy grin that he secretly adored because it was her signature grin. And well, the effect it had on him, too. It was almost rejuvenating.

The young woman craned her neck to the side as she met his eyes. "How have you been lately, Levi?"

Come to think of it, they haven't really talked much in the recent months because they were both preoccupied with their endeavours. He had so much to say.

"Busy."

But he settled for a word instead. He must be _this_ verbally constipated.

Hange snorted. "Aren't we both? But you look more visibly tired than usual. Have you been sleeping well?"

"I should ask you the same. You don't look any better than the last time I saw you." he retorted.

"Hmm, I guess you're right. My mom and dad also said the same. I've lost a bit of weight thanks to grad school. Now, all I am is skinnier." She said as she pinched the skin under her arm and pulled it.

"I know what we should do. We should fatten you up like before."

The young lady frowned. "Hey, I was never fat. You know that."

Levi huffed. "Yeah. Your chest has gotten flatter, too; there's nothing much to see."

"You know, if we're husband and wife, I'd pull your hands and crash it on my chest just so you'd know _it's just there_."

"Right."

" _And_ if it does happen that I gain weight and it swells more than usual, I'm going to ignore you forever, Levi Ackerman. I hope you never get to touch a woman _ever_."

"Sure."

"Smug little shit."

Levi only rolled his eyes in response. And they were once again engulfed by silence. Levi watched the dusts floating as the light from the street lamp illuminated the particles while Hange continued with her swinging.

* * *

It wasn't long when Hange asked him if they could leave and proceed home. Levi obliged himself to walk her home even though their neighbourhood wasn't really a place he'd consider dangerous. Plus, it'd help him sleep better at night if he personally knew that Hange reached her house in one piece. He could see in her eyes and posture just how much her body was screaming for her bed. The last thing he wanted to hear the morning after was a woman in her twenties, slumped on some stranger's lawn because she passed out. In the end, it seemed like the young man was stuck with taking care of the young woman like it had always been the moment they've gotten so comfortable with each other.

Not that Levi minded it so much.

"Hey, Hange," the young man began, eyes never leaving the pavement, "I thought you said you wanted to stay out longer because you wanted to talk. But we didn't even talk about anything."

She snickered. "Yes we did. We talked while we were at the park, remember?"

"No. It was more like we bickered." Levi corrected. "Is something bothering you?"

Hange shook her head and frowned. "Nothing's bothering me. I'm actually feeling great now that I'm back for good. I guess I just really miss everyone. It's so nice to see everyone at Oluo's party."

Levi felt her tug the sleeve of his coat as she scooted closer and looped her arm around his.

"But of course, I miss you the most, you, smug little sir," she nonchalantly stated, ruffling his hair with her free hand.

Levi craned his neck to keep Hange from tousling his hair and held her hand. He hoped that the street lamps were dim enough for her to see that he was blushing at the contact and Hange's straightforwardness. And to think she hadn't consumed any alcohol while at the engagement party, which meant this was pure, unadulterated, unfiltered thoughts that he was certain she'd remember telling him tomorrow morning.

The heavens must be testing him. There was no other explanation he could think of right now.

The Zoe residence looked pretty much the same since the last time he had been there. The lawn was always freshly trimmed, and Mrs. Zoe's rose bushes were just as lush as the first time he saw them. The porch where they often held their afternoon study sessions still reminded him so much of the multiple times they'd accidentally brush skin on skin whenever they did their homework and projects together or the number of times Levi would get a whiff of Hange's citrus shampoo each time she'd turn her head to the direction of the window whenever her mom called from the living room. The memory almost made him smile softly.

"I'll wake up Ezra instead. Hang on a sec." She said as she fished for her phone inside her coat pocket and speed dialled her brother. A tiny smile escaped her lips before she spoke. "Hey, Ezra. Your wonderful sister is going to freeze her ass tonight if you're not gonna let her in. Love you." And she ended the call.

Hange turned round to face Levi, and stood a little closer than he would've wanted, towering over him even more than usual (much to his chagrin) since she was on the porch while he remained on the paved pathway leading to her front door.

There it was again; the look of a lovestruck teen that Hange wore during their commute.

"Allow me just this once, okay?" she said as she moved closer.

It happened in a flurry. One second he was looking at Hange, and the next, his cheek was crushed in between the woman's arms and chest (and he was right; they weren't much, but he wouldn't say it loud this time). To her credit, Hange actually smelled... nice. Then her scent and her touch were gone, and she was standing an arm away from him again.

The door behind them clicked and opened, revealing a half-awake Ezra. "Oh, it's Levi. Long time no see." He greeted sleepily. Levi only nodded.

"Text me when you're home." Hange told him before turning round and going inside.

* * *

"Ah, so your girlfriend's finally home, huh?" Kenny casually asked over dinner. It had been a while since their family had been complete.

Levi sighed sharply. "For the last time, Kenny, _she's not my girlfriend._ "

The old man snorted. "Aren't you too old for denying?"

"No, because I'm not denying anything. I'm merely telling you the truth."

"Whatever, brat," his uncle mumbled as he ate a spoonful of beans. "Do something about it, then. It's been a painfully long time since you had that silly crush on her."

Levi only scoffed.

All this exchange was amusing to Mikasa as she contented herself watching her adoptive uncle and cousin converse as she finished her plate.

"Are you sure she's not attached to anyone else, though? I mean, you're not the only man in the universe, Levi. Not only that, there are a shit ton of men who can probably make her feel every bit of a woman, something you're really terrible at."

The young man banged his fist on the table. "What the hell, Kenny?! Why are we even having this kind of talk? For f—" he paused, glancing at his cousin and hissing, "Kenny, just please shut up."

But his uncle seemed to be having fun teasing him in his own way. "You know I don't want you to be alone, Levi," he said before turning to the little girl and placing his hand on her head, "and you know that little Mikasa here won't be by your side forever. You're gonna have to send her away soon."

Mikasa blushed at that thought, something Levi didn't miss, and he groaned. "And I suppose you're not going to be alone someday, huh?"

"Well, young man, I'm not even going to stay alive longer so leave me be." Kenny said, shrugging. "Besides, I've had my share of women during my younger and prime years so the loneliness aspect has been taken care of."

"Damn it, Kenny. Not in front of the kid."

The old man laughed heartily. "Don't worry; she'll understand that when she's older. Best that we teach her how the world works so she doesn't grow up a sheltered kid."

"Yes, _but not anytime soon_." Levi disagreed. "For a guardian, you're not really setting a good example."

"And you, brat, sound too old for your age. Loosen up a bit will ya?"

If Levi could only smack his uncle's face with the table, he would've done so, but not in front of Mikasa.

Kenny swallowed his food before continuing. "And do yourself a favour, kid; do something before someone else would do her, if you catch my drift."

Seriously, if he could only smack Kenny's face with the table, he would've done so.

* * *

"Yeah, Hange called me up the day she arrived and told me that she's back." Erwin said as he stirred his latte, smirking. "Didn't she drop you a line or something?"

Levi frowned and grunted. "It seemed like four eyes didn't want to bother me."

"Why? Can't take a suprise? I think I'd prefer being surprised than being directly told. Kills the warm fuzzy feelings. Suddenly she appears right in front of me, in all her glory and smiling widely. I think that's sweeter."

Yeah, almost as sweet as your freaking latte, Levi wanted to tell him, but he only snorted.

It had been customary for the two young men to meet up on weekends ever since Levi invited Erwin for tea at their house. It wasn't really something they agreed to verbally, but they've been meeting a lot lately. Oh yeah, Levi hadn't told her about this yet. She'd probably be thrilled, much to his jealousy.

"But aren't you glad Hange's back for good? It means you can pick up where both of you left off."

"As if there's something to pick up."

"Oh, there's nothing to pick up? Don't kid me."

Levi's eyes narrowed. Erwin's brow rose.

"You mean you guys still call yourselves _just_ friends?" The blond asked in disbelief. "Levi, how long do you intend to keep up with this charade?"

Oh, _good lord,_ not this talk _again_. Surely Levi didn't need another Kenny in his life. One Kenny was enough. And surely he and Hange weren't the only ones that people were watching out for, right?

 _Right?_

"Actually, you don't really have to answer that right now; you probably want to think hard about it, but..." Erwin paused to drink his coffee. "Hange's not gonna wait for you forever."

Levi scoffed. "The hell was that supposed to mean?"

The blond flashed that annoying knowing smile of his. "You know what I mean."


	18. Twenty-Four (Part 3) - Dissonance

**Chapter Eighteen: Twenty-Four (Part 3) - Dissonance**

Levi was right; they never call back. Getting herself employed wasn't as easy as she thought it would be, Hange learned. And a part of her would be lying if she wouldn't admit to herself that she expected it'd be tons easier for her to land a job with what she had accomplished given her age. A magna cum laude awardee in her baccalaureate program, a scholarship holder during her graduate studies, and an impressive gold thesis award for her graduate research. Hell, she was even offered another scholarship for post-graduate studies overseas by the dean from the college where she took her MS (but declined this time because she wanted a break).

There was a part of her that couldn't comprehend why she couldn't seal any deal with promising companies she'd been eyeing ever since college. Like that government agency that specialized in the study of agriculture. They were too overwhelmed by her sharing during her initial interview that they just dismissed her to be 'overqualified,' as if there was such a thing (and maybe there was such a thing, just that people were probably afraid they wouldn't be able to catch up).

With much reluctance on her end, Hange did try to apply for a position in the academe as suggested by her parents. It wasn't that she didn't like the field of education; she just didn't think she'd enter it soon enough. And while educational institutions were a lot nicer when it came to rejecting applicants, the high school campuses she'd sent her resume felt like she was 'overqualified' _again_. Hange swore that if she heard that word one more time, she'd go ballistic.

Hange Zoe wasn't stupid, and her remarkable academic record attested to her capabilities as a learned person. So if the evidence of her performance was impressive, why do employers keep on rejecting her?

She'd be lying if she didn't say she didn't find this crazy.

And though her parents were supportive of her in her (sorry) state, their reassurance did not really help ease her growing insecurities. It was funny, in a mean kind of way, she thought. She never heard her parents say anything bad about her tremendously awful luck in employment, but the thought of not being able to meet the timeline she had set for herself stressed her so much, she couldn't sleep properly on most nights.

The gnawing feeling of anxiety wasn't new to Hange, but it had certainly reached that level where she had increasingly obsessed about her future. It was mostly depressing and lonely. And she disliked the fact that she couldn't stop herself sometimes from believing those lies her head concocted. About her degree and research going to waste. About the possibility of suffering from brain waste, and then brain drain. About not being able to live out her passion like she had always hoped for and settling for what was only within her reach.

A humourless snicker escaped her mouth.

* * *

"You know, I'm starting to think that maybe I just got too lucky." She mumbled after sipping the hot milk tea Levi had brewed for her.

It was a Saturday, and she was invited at the Ackerman household to help Mikasa and her group with their Science homework about plants and shit, as Levi had informed her via phone last night. Now that her job was done, and the kids were outside playing with Zoe, the two adults finally had some down time in the living room.

She felt the young man beside her adjust in his seat. "Lucky with what?"

"With almost everything," she replied. Hange drank a bit before continuing. "This is a small town after all, so maybe things are a lot easier."

Levi snorted. "But you were invited to study in a prestigious university outside of this small town for your Master's degree. Free of charge. I wouldn't call that lucky."

"You don't have to humour me just because we're friends, Levi." She quipped as she placed her cup on the coffee table and grabbed one of the throw pillows on the couch. "It might've been a different case if I didn't live in such a small town."

"Don't give me that, four eyes; you know I don't tell people what they want to hear."

She smiled. "Thanks for being sweet, Levi." She attempted to ruffle his hair but his hand was already on her wrist.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Hange."

The way his voice dropped and the way his eyes looked straight to hers alerted the young woman that her friend had already sensed she was bothered by something, and that he wouldn't let this day end without hearing her thoughts.

She guessed he knew her this much already that she wouldn't be able to hide just anything from him. This young man was more sensitive than she gave him credit for. Hange let out a dejected sigh.

"Fine, I'll tell you what's bothering me, but you have to promise not to laugh, okay?"

The last time Hange remembered feeling this vulnerable was when she was selected to represent their school for a competition that she never thought she'd ever take part in. For the first time, she knew what it felt to be nervous and unsure if her smarts would take her enough to the finals even though her teacher reassured her many times that she was chosen because the school believed in her, and that no matter what the results would be, the whole school would still be proud of her (she did win the competition in the end).

But the kind of vulnerable state she was in now, felt different. It almost seemed like she was stripping everything away for Levi to see, and hoping that in the process, even if he wouldn't like what he was seeing, he would still stay.

That sounded kind of desperate.

The air was heavy afterwards. And though he didn't look like it as he just sat there and sipped his tea every now and then, Hange could tell that the young man could also feel the weight encircling them.

Well, he did give her the floor to talk. And so here they were.

The young woman finished the last of her milk tea (it had gotten lukewarm now). "I guess this is my cue to leave? I'm sorry for making things awkward with my mindless ranting." She said as she carefully placed her cup on the table.

She was taken aback when she felt the slight touch of Levi's hand on her extended arm. She turned her head to look at him, her face painted perplexed at the contact.

"Hange, people will make you feel how they want you to feel about yourself, but it doesn't really affect what you're capable of unless you let it get into your head all the time."

If she wasn't surprised earlier, she was more surprised now. Was that a low-key compliment she was hearing?

She guessed Levi must've sensed that, too, the way he shook his head and removed his hand immediately from her arm as he righted himself on the couch. He cleared his throat.

"What I'm trying to say is, I think you're amazing. And if people think otherwise, it's not really your problem. That's just the way they are. Overqualified their asses."

She thought it was silly—and she probably would still think the same in the future—how she felt tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she mindlessly wrapped her arms around her friend in a tight (suffocating) embrace. Levi was such a sweetheart, and she wasn't going to tell him that out loud because she knew he wouldn't take that as a compliment.

"Hey, no hugs!" The young man protested as he tried to wrench himself free from her grasp. "We agreed on this one a long time ago, didn't we?"

But Hange only hugged him tighter, smiling widely—and genuinely—for the first time.

* * *

"What is this?"

In front of her was a piece of paper with some details she couldn't make out because it was so close to her face, it almost looked out of focus even with her glasses on.

"I know it's not the job you want, but at least it's research." Levi informed her as he removed the paper from her sight and handed it to her so she could read the details. "I know how much you love research so I thought maybe you should give this a try."

The young woman adjusted her spectacles and read the notice. One of the community colleges around town was looking for research assistants who graduated with a degree in any Bachelor of Science courses, but preferably from any branch of the Sciences. There wasn't much that they were looking for except they were hoping the assistant would be willing to do some fieldwork. Of course; fieldwork wasn't really appealing so Hange wasn't surprised.

"It's not prestigious like you were aiming for, but—"

"It's okay. I'll give this a shot." Hange cut her friend before he could even say more. "This may be my gateway to the fun world of employment."

The young man scoffed. "I wouldn't say it's all fun, but whatever helps you sleep easy, I guess."

"Let me just get some things then let's go."

Levi looked at her in confusion. "Let's go?"

She grinned. "I will pass my resumé, and you're coming with me today."

And she was right. Three days after she passed her resumé, the college called her back and she was hired. Just like that.

* * *

Why was she so affected by something so trivial?

Hange sometimes blamed herself for being a little different than most women. She wasn't always the best groomed in the room, but due to her seemingly normal appearance, it wasn't so difficult to approach her and befriend her (until most of the people really get to know her and decide with finality if they found her too intense or a fun person to be with). It also didn't surprise her that between her female colleagues and herself, most of their male colleagues tend to join her more than the others because there was no need to put up a show when it came to dealing with a person like Hange. This sense of comfort that she strangely emitted was something she genuinely liked about herself. It made her like the safe person in the sea of strangers.

That was, until she overheard two of her male colleagues rating all the women in their department during their lunch break.

Hange tried to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible as she hid herself quietly in the corner outside the faculty lounge as she eavesdropped on their candid observations, much to her disgust. But there was a tiny bit inside her that couldn't just go and leave them. Yes, they were gossiping, and gossiping was bad, and yes she was eavesdropping, and that too, was bad.

But something so bad was just _so good_. Hange was human, after all.

Of course, there was a talk about breasts—men like those jiggling lumps of fat, after all—and who in the office had the biggest size (how on earth did they estimate?). Butts were also present—men like those, too. It was so… interesting to note how something so high school never left grown men. Hange wondered if any of her male friends really do check those things out (Levi did call her out once, but that was just one time. Has he ever done it multiple times?), and in the middle of her musing, she heard her name.

This could be fun, she thought, as she trained her ears to catch what they have to say.

"Ah, there's really nothing much to see," one of them said. She wasn't surprised. She wasn't looking for them anymore after all these years.

"I feel kinda bad for her, though."

What? Why?

"I mean, if only she looked pretty, maybe I'd consider her."

 _The hell?_

"You know what they say about people? Nice packaging doesn't always mean nice products inside. Maybe she's just one of those who pack a winning personality." But somehow, there was a trace of mirth in her colleagues voice that didn't comfort Hange at all. "Looks fade, after all."

"But, man, she's _so damn smart._ "

She thought so, too, but she didn't mean to boast.

"Frankly, I'd like it better if I am smarter."

Egotistic chauvinist. If she could only kick him in the nuts right now she would've done so this moment.

"Smart women are trouble, you're right," the other one agreed. "But if she's smart and has curves at the right places, I wouldn't mind. I'd be thrilled to be attached to someone's that's almost perfect."

Hange wasn't so sure anymore why she decided to stay and listen. And hurt herself in the process.

"Too bad Hange's only smart." And there was chuckling. Well, that hurt a lot more than she wanted. "Her lanky frame doesn't add up either. You can't find anything soft to touch in case of contact. I honestly feel bad for the guy who would settle for the likes of her."

 _That was so mean_.

"I think I understand what you mean, but what you said was bad."

At least this guy had a conscience.

"Oh really? Then if Hange was the last woman on earth, would you settle for her?"

Hange waited for an answer that never came. Or at least it never reached her ears because she already left silently before the other man could answer.

* * *

Hange could not believe that she was _greatly_ affected by something so trivial.

Later that night, when she returned to their house and ate a bit of her dinner, she immediately went to her bedroom and stripped her uniform. Wearing only her undergarments, Hange stood in front of her mirror as she lifted the hem of her camisole and looked at the slight bulge on her abdomen. She had just eaten, so it explained why she had a bit of tummy fat, when it was usually flat most part of the day when she missed lunch in favour of work. She lifted it all the way up to her breasts, and found that her bra couldn't fit her snugly because _it was that small_. She reasoned it was understandable because she had always been lean all her life. But was it really essential for those lumps of fat to be quite large when they would sag because of gravity as women aged? Did that make her less of a woman if she didn't have breasts that men could only stare at and hope to touch someday?

She turned to her side, eyes still fixed on her reflection, and traced the slight curving from her waist down to her butt cheeks. The curves were _slight_ , just like she observed, and the cheeks were not very large considering her hands could cover both of it with no problem (she had long fingers yes, but her hands were quite thin). It actually made a her a little more confident walking around in class during discussions because she wouldn't have to worry about getting her butt too close to her students' faces when she'd turn around. Did that make her less of a woman just because her butt didn't invade anybody's personal space?

And then there was her hair. It was mostly tied in a ponytail to keep it from getting to her face, and it had always been her go-to hairstyle ever since she stopped wearing them in pigtails. Frankly, she found nothing wrong with it, but maybe it was _too plain_. Perhaps she should try tying it in braids? But that was time consuming. Maybe just let it down like most girls do? Nah, her hair was too thick and frizzy to cooperate. Cut it off? Well, she could use some change, but longer hair was a lot easier to maintain (ironically). She swept her bangs on the side of her face and stared at her features.

She always knew that her nose was big, but tonight, it felt so strange staring at it for a few minutes. It was like bigger than she remembered. Maybe her eyes were only playing tricks on her?

Somehow, she felt that it didn't quite help that she was taller than most women she knew. Even when she wore flats, she still towered over her female colleagues (and to a certain extent, some of her male colleagues). Did it make her less of a woman then?

Hange walked to her bed and flopped unceremoniously as she stared at the ceiling. A dejected sigh escaped her mouth.

This was absurd. Hange Zoe, smart and capable, was affected by a simple comment of a colleague she didn't really care much about.

* * *

Levi didn't expect that one, teachers could get this rowdy when they party, and two, not all teachers were what they seem in front of students. Sure, they were ordinary human beings with feelings and with wants, but Levi couldn't stop cognitive dissonance from happening in his mind now as he tried to process everything that transpired that evening. He never imagined that the likes of reputable professors could actually smoke like an old train or drink themselves to the point of poisoning. And some of these were probably around Kenny's age. Some of those were just around Levi and Hange's age, which was expected, but still… they were teachers. In Levi's mind, teachers weren't capable of being… wild.

He guessed there was still more to this world that he hadn't seen.

With little force needed, Levi managed to put Hange on her bed, her sweaty frame immediately soaking the sheets underneath. She was drunk. Again. And it didn't escape Levi's mind that this was pretty much the same scenario they were in when he brought her (and her friends) home after a karaoke night when they were in high school. But the setting this time was different; this wasn't the Zoe residence, and there was no Mrs. Zoe to help him take care of a drunken Hange, and a shocked Ezra watching in the background. The young woman had invited him to join their department's semester ender party at one of their superior's rest house somewhere in Karanese.

A part of him now was relieved that he didn't decline or God knew what could've occurred if he wasn't there to check on her (like the protective mother he was, according to her). Actually, if he wasn't there to tell her to stop drinking because she was already slurring in her speech and swaying as she walked over to her colleagues, maybe she would've been dead drunk and sleeping on the floor, covered in her own vomit until the next day. The thought almost made the young man gag in disgust.

The guest room didn't have a bathroom inside it so he had to step out for a while to get some stuff he could use to help her sober up. He allowed himself to relax a bit when he returned inside and saw that Hange was still on the bed, and was breathing evenly. Maybe she had finally fallen asleep from the amount of alcohol she consumed that night. This would make his work easier, then.

A sense of deja vu came over him as he placed the basin filled with cold water on the table next to the bed, and sat on the bed, a few inches away from Hange's body. It was weirdly funny that Hange didn't seem to have learned from what happened when they were 16. As Levi rinsed off the excess water from the now wet towel, he hoped that it wasn't too cold for Hange that he would wake her up from the contact. As he carefully placed the wet towel on Hange's forehead, he saw her stir. Nose scrunching and eyelids twitching, the young woman slowly opened her eyes.

"Mom?" she whispered.

Her voice was hoarse from vomiting a few minutes ago. The smell of vomit and alcohol in her breath didn't go unnoticed by Levi, but this wasn't the time to be irked, he told himself.

"Close enough," he replied flatly as he released the towel from his hold. "You do call me that, sometimes."

Hange didn't sit up or made any movement save for her eyes, which scanned the place. "I drank too much again, didn't I?"

Levi hummed in confirmation. "If by again, you mean just like what happened when we were in high school, then yes." He quickly added.

She let out a chuckle. "Oh. This isn't the second time, actually."

"What? You mean this is some regular occurrence already?!" And all along he thought Hange had finally learned her lesson.

She didn't reply immediately. And as much as Levi wanted her to spill all the other times this happened to her, she probably wasn't in the best state to recall all those events. It unsettled him greatly.

"Well, this wasn't the worse," she quipped as she adjusted the wet towel on her forehead. "There was one time I really did fall asleep covered in my vomit. It was our college year-ender. Moblit was also too drunk to care." She laughed. "Good times."

He shook his head in disappointment. "Good times, my foot. Nothing's good about sleeping on your vomit. What were you thinking?!"

She finally turned to look at him and smiled weakly. "I knew you'd say that."

He allowed Hange to rest as he figured out how the air conditioning unit worked inside the guest room, but not before he replaced the wet towel on her forehead when it absorbed the heat coming from the young woman.

"Levi?"

He didn't turn round. "I thought I told you to go to sleep."

"Tell me something. Honestly."

But his demand fell on deaf ears it seemed.

"Go to sleep, Hange." He insisted, still adjusting the temperature to a tolerable degree. Just enough to keep the room ventilated but without freezing them to the point of hypothermia.

"Have you ever looked at me and saw me as a woman?"

Levi's head sharply turned to her direction. Where the hell did that question come from?

* * *

I've put this story on hold for a very long time. Now, it's back. I'm sorry for the long wait, especially those who're still following this story in spite of the hiatus. I've also been feeling a little rusty, so tell me what you think. Thank you! :)


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